A/N: An astonishing lack of authors notes on my part. Not sure if it is preferable that way or whatever but anyway just a quick thanks and most likely an apology for most likely making a mistake in here somewhere that I probably missed. Anyway, you're all awesome and congratulations!
Dean had no idea why he was at Cas's house so early in the morning. He had no right to be there and he'd only known Cas a couple of days. And yet there he stood, waiting- hoping- that Cas wouldn't be too bothered by his early morning presence.
He wasn't planning on being there so early- in fact, it hadn't even crossed his mind until this morning when he woke up. He'd seen Sam and... he had to sort his thoughts.
He looked around the house quickly, noticing there were no cars there. He thought maybe now wouldn't be the best time, but then he knocked on the door and he knew he couldn't leave anymore.
There was shuffling behind the door, and then the door swung open, revealing a very sleepy eyed Cas. He was dressed in a robe, which was not tied around his waist but instead showed that he had been wearing boxers and a white shirt underneath. Dean pretended not to notice, and cleared his throat. He looked down, then back up at Cas. He regretted it instantly as he got lost in Cas's hazy blue eyes.
"Dean I... did not expect you. I was assuming that Sara had been locked out again," Cas said, a sleepy smile on his face. Dean cocked his head in question.
"Sara?"
"Apologies. You would most likely know her as Miss Novak," Cas said, shrugging his shoulders. He motioned for Dean to come inside, to which Dean responded to by awkwardly shuffling in.
"You don't seem to have a problem with me being here so early," Dean said, chuckling softly.
"Well I am quite accustomed to letting people in, I suppose. And by people, I imply Gina," Cas said, shrugging again. Dean couldn't help but to glance every so often at Cas, stupidly checking to see if Cas's eyes were still just as blue as previous. Something about the early morning just made Cas seem much more... bright.
The house was filled with early morning summer sunlight, which twinkled on the glass coffee table and reflected off of the tv, which looked as though it hadn't been used in a while. Everything about the house seemed to create a sort of atmosphere... a feeling he could somehow associate with Cas and Sara Novak. But of course, there was something very empty about the house, which lie beneath the cheeriness of the place.
"You seem to be contemplating something," Cas eventually stated. By now he had drifted into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee, sipping it quickly even though Dean could tell it was extremely hot.
"Well I... came over to ask you... about something," Dean said vaguely, trailing off every so often only to pick up his words again.
"I am assuming you have changed your mind," Cas said, taking another sip of coffee and sitting stiffly on the couch. Something about Cas was very conflicting in his ways and manners.
"Well, yes. Sort of," Dean said, letting out a breath and looking away nervously, "I kind of just wanted to apologize. For last night."
Cas was quiet for a moment, then he looked embarrassed as he stood back up and looked towards the floor.
"I suppose you have figured out our scheme by now," Cas said, looking up and then down again, like a guilty puppy. Dean let the smallest bit of agitation show.
"You too?" Dean scoffed in disbelief, then shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"I saw him with his laptop next to him and I could tell," Dean said, "I mean, I sort of regret finding a place that could reach free WiFi." Dean allowed a small smile to show Cas that he wasn't mad.
"I am detecting a note of forgiveness," Cas said, a hopeful smile on his face. Dean rolled his eyes, sighing slightly.
"You're detecting correctly, I guess; I want in, to help you. I don't want you guys getting into anything weird if I can't be there to assist," he put his hands out as if to signal defeat.
"I'm glad you have accepted to help us with this," Cas said, "but couldn't this have waited until a little later in the morning?" Dean laughed, glad to shift the attention in the subject.
"Well it looks like you were already awake anyway," Dean said teasingly.
"I had been sleeping on the couch when you arrived," Cas said sheepishly, or as sheepishly as he could manage. Dean could tell he had been sleeping on the couch- the couch was messy, as if to match with Cas's morning look- and Dean could also tell, from the bags under his eyes, that he hadn't slept very well.
"Is your aunt still sleeping?" Dean asked, looking around the house curiously.
"Sara works the night shift... She doesn't come home until an hour from now and she knocks out right away," Cas looked ready to continue, but he must have thought it would be irrelevant, because he paused, then closed his mouth.
For a moment, the room felt as though it was cheerful and calm, like there was no other feeling to the place- all Dean could see was Cas's sleepy smile and bright eyes, the early morning sun lighting up the room in the brightest pinks and reds. But that faded soon, and left a cold shell. A shell of something not quite discovered, or explained, like there was something in the room no one wanted to talk about but it was still there.
"Is there anything else you are wanting to inquire?" Cas said after a couple seconds, observing Dean's facial expressions.
"One more thing actually," Dean said, wanting to address the photo upstairs. Everything about that photo was begging for some questions to be answered. Begging for an explanation. Dean felt that once that question was answered, the empty feeling would disappear. But then he looked at Cas- really looked at him- and he knew he couldn't ask.
"When do we begin?"