This is the last chapter but it is not the last story you will see from this verse. I hope everyone has enjoyed this story. Again, please comment and let me know what you think!
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The next day, Dean woke up extra early for work and left without even eating breakfast. He did not want to chance running into Castiel as he was still pissed off with him. He also knew his own temper and did not want to end up saying something he would regret. The last thing he wanted to do was to make things worse between them.
He stopped at a convenience store on the way in to work to grab some donuts and coffee for himself and the others at the station. When he got back into his car, his phone rang and he pulled it out to see who was calling. Seeing 'Cas' on the screen, he made a face and hit the ignore button.
"Mornin' Dean!" Garth said cheerfully when he entered the station. When he saw the state Dean was in, he frowned. "Hey, you alright? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine." Dean dropped a bag into the smaller males lap as he moved past him to his own desk. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. And no, not from what you are thinking."
Garth grinned around a mouthful of doughnut, white powder already all over his face. "I figured that much. If it was because of Castiel, you are normally grinning like a fool when you come in. And sometimes limping."
Dean flinched but said nothing more about it. He had a pile of paperwork to finish from the accident the day before as well as some others he'd been putting off. If he waits much longer to finish them, Rufus will kick his ass. He had no desire to piss his boss off today, something that was never good when he himself was already in a bad mood, so he got to work right away.
It wasn't even a half an hour later when Garth was standing in front of his desk and frowning down at him.
"Is there a reason Castiel is calling my phone instead of yours?" Garth nodded towards the phone on Dean's desk. "He's on line one."
Dean didn't even look at his phone, "Tell him I'm busy, which I am, and to stop bothering me."
Garth's eyebrows went up in surprise, "Dean, is something-"
"I said that I'm fucking busy!" Dean snapped and Garth looked hurt before he went scurrying back to his desk.
Garth snatched his phone off the cradle and nearly dropped it twice before getting it to his ear. "Er, heya Cas. Dean can't take a call right now, he's busy." he glanced sideways at Dean to see that the other male actually was working. He let out a low whistle. If Dean was working like that, it meant he was trying to keep his mind off of something. "So, you two alright? Dean is a bit...out of it."
Castiel sighed on the other end of the phone. "I'm sorry, he'll probably be a pain to work with today."
"Eh, nothing I've not dealt with before. Just promise me you'll fix it when he gets out of work today. I don't like seeing my friends fighting."
There was a long pause. "I'll do my best."
After Garth hung up the phone, he saw Dean gathering up all the paperwork and folders on his desk to bring them to the person who took care of them after that. His eyes were still hard and his bad mood was surrounding him like a cloud. Garth looked at his calendar and actually winced. He was pretty sure Dean had forgotten what today was and his mood was only going to get worse.
Fantastic.
"Hey Dean, today's the sixth." Garth had gotten up from his desk and followed after the other male.
"No shit Sherlock." Dean deposited the papers and folders down on the desk in a messy pile, then turned to give the other man a look.
Garth braced himself as he took a breath, "So you do remember what is going on today, right? In about," a quick glance at the clock on the wall showed that it was just about 8 a.m. "five minutes?"
Just then the front door to the station opened and Rufus came in with a scrawny male behind him. He looked barely eighteen years old and very out of place. His uniform was loose on him and his tie was on backwards, instantly reminding Dean of Castiel. When the boy caught sight of Dean and Garth, he gave a shy wave then promptly walked into a desk.
It was at that moment that Dean remembered and his eyes went wide. "Oh fuck."
"Winchester, Fitzgerald, this scrawny ass kid is Alfie. He's fresh out of the academy and you," Rufus pointed a finger at Dean, "are in charge of him. He's your new partner. Good luck." Rufus actually snorted a laugh as he turned and headed into his office leaving.
"Actually, my name is Samandriel. The other guys at the academy just called me Alfie." he was holding out his hand, "you can call me what you like, I don't mind."
Since Dean was just standing there staring and looking like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or yell, Garth stepped forward and took the boys hand.
"I'm Garth and this is Dean. Nice to meet you, Alfie." The two shook hands and Garth looked at Dean expectantly.
Finally Dean snapped out of it and shook Alfie's hand as well, surprised at the grip the other gave him. "I guess we're partners." a moment of déjà vu hit him as he recalled saying those words before. "Lucky for you, it's not too crazy around here."
"I don't mind if it is quiet, I'll still be helping people." Alfie smiled as he looked between the two in front of him.
"So, what brought you to a town like ours, Alfie? Normally everyone wants to go to the city where there is more opportunity."
"I heard that there was a spot opening up soon for a full-time position. I thought it would be best to start in a smaller town to get more experience before moving on, assuming I decide to. I rather like small towns like this one."
When Dean realized that Alfie was referring to his own position, his bad mood was back. Unless things changed between him and Castiel, he wouldn't be going anywhere. He didn't know what that would mean for Alfie, but assumed the kid would be sent somewhere else. Dean wondered if he should talk to Rufus about the possibility that he'd be staying, but decided to wait a bit longer until he was sure. If he changed his mind to stay, he doubted that Rufus would give him the referral if he changed his mind again later to leave.
Garth noticed the change in Dean's mood and quickly lead Alfie away to go meet the other people that were in the station at this time. Dean, meanwhile, went back to his desk to start working on more paperwork.
Garth and Alfie currently stood talking in the break room in the back of the station, away from Deans bad mood. Alfie was frowning and looking a bit down but cheered up a bit when Garth told him Dean's mood was not because of him.
"He's having a bit of a spat with his boyfriend. I promise that Dean is not usually like this and is a nice and fun guy to be around. I'm sure once he gets out of his mood he will be more welcoming." Garth gave him a pat on the shoulder. "When our shift ends, I'll take you around to meet everyone. You must be feeling out of place not knowing anyone."
Alfie nodded and smiled in thanks, "I don't, but I've never had a problem making friends. I just hope that Dean and I get along well, especially if we are going to be partners. Is there anything I should know about him?"
"Pie. Dean loves pie more than anything. So if you ever need to make a peace offering, that would be it. Like I said though, he's actually easy to get along with. Don't let the tough guy exterior fool you. He's a big softy."
"Alfie!" Dean yelled from the front of the station. "We've got a call, get your ass out here!"
Alfie looked nervous again and Garth chuckled. "A softie, I promise. No go on!"
When Alfie and Garth came out of the back, Dean was waiting by the front door swinging the keys around on his finger. "You can gossip like girls later, let's go."
The pair left the station and climbed into Dean's cruiser. Dean flicked the lights on but not the siren as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. He shot Alfie a sideways look and saw the boy fidgeting in his seat. He didn't know if it was nerves from going out on a job or if it was because of Dean himself.
Dean rolled his eyes, "Relax kid, I'm not going to bite you." he pulled the small notebook from his pocket and passed it to the smaller male so he could read it. "Looks like there was a break in at the whole foods store on Main Street but the perp is no longer there. We're going to question the clerk and any other witnesses there, got it?"
"Y-yeah, I can do that." Alfie slowly relaxed when he found out they were not going to be doing anything more dangerous. He was trained for it, but he'd rather it not happen on his first day.
When they got to the whole foods store they found that it was closed to keep customers away, but the clerk was waiting for them at the door. To Dean's surprise, it was Dory. He had not recognized her voice over the phone. She had sounded a bit scared when she called, and when he spotted Charlie sitting at a table in the back of the store, he realized why.
"You doing okay, Dory?" Dean asked as he and Alfie were let into the store. There was glass on the floor from the busted front door as well as food scattered throughout the store from tipped over shelves. Nothing too serious as far as he could see. "Was anyone hurt?"
Dory shook her head and scowled. "No, I was in storage when he came in and no one else was here. He used a brick to smash the front door then left out the back. I'm still cleaning up and doing inventory so I don't know what has been stolen yet." she looked towards the back to where Charlie sat talking to someone but the shelves were blocking their view of the other person. "If she had come in a few minutes earlier..." her voice shook a bit before she shook her head. "Anyway, if you want to see the surveillance tapes, the computer is in the small room out back. Help yourself."
"Alfie, I'm going to check out the video. You start getting statements from Dory and anyone else who is here."
"Ah, right!" Alfie pulled out his own notepad and dropped it and the pen on the floor at Dory's feet. His face was bright red as he stood back up, made even worse as Dory and Dean exchanged amused looks.
Dean shook his head as he headed towards the back of the store to find the room Dory had mentioned. He picked up a shelving unit in one of the isles that would be too heavy for a woman Dory's size, then closed a freezer door that was left open. Finally finding the room, he was happy, but a bit concerned, to find it unlocked.
He pulled up the computer chair and woke up the monitor and found that one of the cameras was out. The one watching the front door. He cycled through the other ones to make sure they were all working, only to stop when he found himself looking at Charlie and the person she'd been speaking to. Castiel sat across from her and was holding a bag of ice against the side of his face and looking grumpy. He could tell by Charlie's exaggerated movements that she was scolding him for something and Dean was afraid to find out what it was about.
Deciding to worry about that later, and also not wanting to go out to speak with Castiel right now, Dean minimized the current video feed to open the folder with the older videos. The computer was currently set up to separate the videos into eight hour sections lined up with each shift. He started with the folder for first shift yesterday then made his way through the others. He didn't notice anything off in any of them, except for the video of the second shift.
"What the hell?" Dean squinted and leaned closer to the screen to get a closer look.
There was a man standing in the same spot for two hours, just watching the people in the store. Before he left a few minutes before the store closed, he shot the front door camera a look before he vanished from camera view. Dean back tracked to the other videos and sure enough, the same man could be found in various places in them, always watching and never shopping. Multiple times Dory had tried to go over to talk to him, but he would always run away from her or leave the store.
Dean jotted some notes down including times the man was seen in the video and what he was wearing. Next he switched to the video that was from last shift up to right before the current shift started. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and he let out a string of curses at what he saw.
About an hour before the store opened, the front door camera blacked out. From what he could see in the other nearby cameras, the brick was thrown through the front door and glass went flying everywhere. A man wearing a hood and a bandana over his face was then seen at the registers only to find them empty. The man then grabbed a basket presumably to steal food.
While he was in the middle of filling a basket, the man suddenly turned and started gesturing wildly, presumably yelling at someone off camera. A moment later, that someone ran forward and barreled right into the man sending the food scattering across the floor. Dean would recognize that dark hair anywhere.
"Son of a bitch! That idiot." Dean shook his head as he continued watching the video.
The man had kicked Castiel to get him off of him, then was scrambling to his feet and down an aisle. Castiel was right up and after him and tackling him again, sending the rack Dean picked up earlier tumbling to the floor and knocking more food off the shelves. Dean's eyes moved to another screen to where the next camera picked them up. They were now in the back where the tables were, punching and struggling against each other. The man got free of Castiel again and this time managed to escape out the back door. Castiel could be seen standing in the doorway and pulling his cell from his pocket to make a call.
Dean's stomach turned and he found himself reaching for his own phone to compare the times. 6:45am is what it said in the video and that was the same time Castiel had tried calling him. The call that Dean ignored.
"Fuck."
Dean rubbed his hand over his face as he stared at the paused image of Castiel on the screen. His face was covered in blood and it looked like he was breathing hard. He restarted the video to see Dory coming out of the back room holding a broom as a weapon, dropping it when she saw Castiel. A few minutes later and suddenly Charlie was there as well looking panicked.
Dean pulled a USB drive from his pocket and saved all of the video files onto it for later, then got up from the chair to go out and talk with his dumb ass boyfriend. Once again he was furious with him, but now it was for a completely different reason.
There was an ambulance out front now and an EMT was patching Castiel up. When Castiel looked up and saw him, his face paled and his eyes dropped. He knew exactly what Dean would say about this. Once the EMT finished patching him up, Castiel slowly got to his feet and gave a weak smile.
"Hello Dean."
"You fucking idiot!" Dean yelled, causing Charlie, Dory and Alfie to jump in surprise. "You little idiot!" he then pulled the smaller male into a crushing hug. "What the hell were you thinking, Cas? You could have been killed!"
Slowly Castiel relaxed in Dean's arms, even wrapping his own around the others waist to hug him back. "I had to try and stop him, Dean. I knew that Dory opens during the week and that she's usually alone. What if she had been the one to find that man in here? He could have-"
Castiels next words were cut off as Dean crushed their mouths together. Castiel winced from the pain that shot through his split lip, but he couldn't push Dean away. When the kiss broke, Dean cursed and used the sleeve of his shirt to dab gently at Castiel's freshly bleeding lip.
"We are going to talk later." Dean said firmly, leaving no room for argument. He stepped away from Castiel and went over to talk with Alfie. "Did you get everyone's statements?"
Alfie stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before blinking quickly and nodding. He flipped through his notebook and scanned his notes. "Yes. Mr. Novak was able to give a very detailed description of the perp so I think we should not have much of a problem finding him, assuming the guy is still in town. No one had seen him before so I'm assuming he was just passing through. I'll take a look at the video you found and see if I can find a decent frame we can use as a picture to send to the local media. Combined with the description, hopefully it will be enough to find him."
Dean nodded as he looked over to where Castiel had starting picking things up to help Dory clean up the store. He wanted to stay and help as well, but he knew Rufus would chew him out if he did. He couldn't get his personal and work life mixed up or it would only cause him more problems than he already had. There also was now a small crowd of people gathered out front of the store trying to look in and figure out what had happened.
"Alright, there's nothing else for us to do here right now." he said to Alfie before turning to Dory who was standing nearby. "Are you going to open the shop today? If not, I'll let the people outside know not to bother you."
Dory waved a dismissive hand at him, "Yes I'm going to open once I have everything cleaned up. From what I can tell, nothing was actually stolen and the only damage was to the front door. No point in keeping people from doing their shopping and losing business over that."
Charlie and Castiel had most of the mess already cleaned up and things put back in order. The only thing left to do was to take care of the damaged door and Dory already had duct tape and a few pieces of plywood to block off the lower part of the door to keep people out. Not having any other reason to stick around, Dean and Alfie left the store.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Alfie was much more relaxed than he had been earlier and was smiling now. "That went well. Now we just have to try and find the guy who did it."
"One thing at a time." Dean started up the cruiser and pulled out of the parking lot. "Use the radio to contact the others and give them the description of the suspect." he chuckled when the boys eyes lit up with excitement. He remembered feeling the same way when he got to use the radio for the first time. Made everything seem more official.
Before they headed back to the station to start on the paperwork side of their job, Dean drove around the town showing Alfie the different sights and where the most crime tended to happen. Most of what they had to deal with were break ins and fights at the local bars, but sometimes there would be more violent crimes such as muggings and even arson. Alfie listened to every word Dean said and even made notes to go over later. By the time they got back to the station, Dean decided that Alfie was a good kid and would make a good partner as soon as he got used to the job.
The pair had been out on another call before lunch and when they got back to the station, Dean was surprised yet happy to see a small cooler sitting under his desk with lunch in it. There was also a short note from Castiel with it that was pretty much a finger wagging, telling Dean to stop forgetting his lunch, even if he was moody. That had him feeling a bit guilty until he remembered why he had been angry in the first place. His anger was down to a low simmer but not completely gone. He hoped that he could keep his temper in control when he got home later to have that talk with Castiel.
"Hello boys." Jody greeted them with a big smile, then slapped Dean upside the head. "You know what that's for."
Alfie stared at her with wide eyes until Dean chuckled. He was still getting used to his fellow officers. They all had such different personalities that it was sometimes hard to know when people were joking. Rufus still scared him, so when the man himself came out of his office, Alfie hurried to his own desk to start filling out paperwork from the morning break in.
"He learns fast." Dean said with a grin.
"If only you would so I wouldn't have to repeat myself all the damn time." Rufus said back but it only made Dean smile more. "I can't wait to have you out of my hair, Winchester."
Dean's smile wanted to fall but he forced it to stay in place. He didn't want to bring up the possibility that he wasn't leaving just yet. "You will miss me, admit it. This place would be boring without me."
"More quiet more's like it." Jody added with a wink before getting back to what she was doing before.
Any further conversations were cut off when a call came in about a big fire at one of the warehouses. Dean grabbed Alfie to head out to the fire and Garth went along in another car with Jody. When they got to where the warehouse was, Dean let out a low whistle at the sight of the blaze. The sky with filled with black smoke and flames were shooting up high into the sky. Some of them were licking at the sides of the other buildings putting them at risk of catching on fire as well.
The police officers quickly blocked off the streets with their cars and set up orange cones to block off other areas. There were already a few vans from local TV stations with their reporters out and asking questions. Dean left Alfie to stand guard at one of the street entrances while he himself went to help with the crowd control. He understood why people were drawn to such things, but it still pissed him off that they continued to get in the way and make more work for people like himself and the firefighters.
Three more fire trucks and a few more police officers showed up in the next half hour as the blaze continued to refuse to be tamed. Dean groaned, knowing that he was in for a long day.
XXX
Castiel paced around the apartment nervously as he watched the news regarding the warehouse fire. He had seen Dean a few times yelling at the crowd to stay back, but then he had disappeared from sight since. The firefighters had finally managed to contain the blaze and it was no longer in danger of spreading. Most of the police had already left as well, but Dean still had not called or come home. If Dean were a firefighter instead of a police officer, he'd be an even bigger wreck than he already was.
"Calm down, Castiel, Dean will be fine. He probably has to stay until the fire is out to make sure more of those idiots watching don't try to get closer." Charlie replied through the phone. "You know he's always the last one to leave."
"Yeah, I know." Castiel sighed as he flopped down on the couch to stop himself from pacing around. "I sent him a text asking him when he was coming home, but he never responded. I know he's busy, but I thought he could at least send me something quick so I know he's alright. Or maybe he's still mad at me and is avoiding coming home because of that."
"Oh please," Castiel could practically hear Charlie roll her eyes, "he kissed you this morning at the store. If he were really that angry with you, he would have ignored you then too and left everything up to that baby cop. Speaking of that, are you going to tell me what is going on between you and Dean? You said you would later and it's later."
His eyes fell to the pile of papers on the coffee table that he'd cleaned up this morning. It had hurt walking up and finding Dean gone, knowing the other male was still angry and avoiding him. When he saw Dean at the store in the morning, he had hoped they could talk a bit then, but Dean wouldn't spare him a moment then. Then when he went to the police station to bring Dean his lunch, the other was not around. He waited an hour and he still never showed up, then he had given up and went home.
"I've been thinking about the internship offers that I have and made a list of pros and cons for them. Dean saw them last night and overreacted before I could properly explain anything. Then when I did, he was too worked up to see things from my point of view or why I was doing it." he started chewing on his lip again. "It is my fault he got that way. He thinks that I am going to break up with him and then leave him."
"And? I'm assuming he has a reason to believe that after you two just went through a four year long distance relationship with little problems."
"Yeah...I told him that I didn't want him to leave his family behind just so he could follow me if I decided to take one of the internships. I know he's close to everyone and he'd be homesick in a month." Castiels voice dropped lower and he felt his eyes burning. "I told him that if I did take the internship and he refused to stay behind, then I would break things off with him."
"Ouch. No wonder he's so pissy."
"But I haven't made my decision yet! He's just assuming that I'm going to leave him. I don't want to leave him, Charlie. Those four years with short visits were really hard on me. He said he was fine but we both know how he is."
This time it was Charlie sighing, "Look Cas, even before he learned that you have more than one offer, he was already planning on leaving Lawrence to follow you. He got Rufus to give him a referral when he needs it. He's just been waiting on you to get home so he could tell you. You do realize how madly in love with you he is, right?"
"Yeah," Castiel smiled a bit and felt his cheeks burning. "but I still don't want him to follow me if it means he's going to be missing home so much. I don't want him to hurt like that."
"Don't you think he's old enough to make that decision on his own? Deans a big boy, Cas. If he says that he wants to follow you and has worked his ass off so that he can, shouldn't you be happy about that?"
The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the outside hallway had Castiel sitting up on the couch and looking towards the front door. The sound of a key in the lock let him know that Dean was finally home.
"He's home so I'm going. And Charlie...thank you."
"Laters!" Charlie said happily before hanging up.
As soon as Dean was through the door and it was shut behind him, Castiel had him pinned to it and was kissing him desperately. Dean kissed him back for a moment before he gently pushed his boyfriend away, a small smile on his face. Dark circles were under his eyes and his form was slumped in an obvious sign of exhaustion. His skin was sooty in places, mostly on his arms below where his sleeves were rolled up. Pieces of ash clung to his hair and his clothes.
"Hello Dean." Castiels nose wrinkled a moment later as he finally noticed the thick smell of smoke covering the other male. "You stink."
Dean snorted as he kicked his shoes off and padded through the apartment towards the bathroom. "Standing next to a burning building for five hours will do that to you." When he pulled off his shirt, he heard Castiel suck in a sharp breath. "I'm fine, nothing's broken." A large purple bruise covered half of his back and part of his side.
Castiel moved closer and gently ran his fingers over the mark, causing Dean to shiver. "What happened?"
"A few people got out of control and I was knocked over trying to get them back. I fell into the wooden barrier we put up to keep people out of the street." he spoke over his shoulder as he entered the bathroom and stripped out of the rest of his clothes.
Castiel took his clothes as he removed them and put them directly into the basket to keep the ash from getting all over the bathroom. He was glad he'd done laundry earlier today or everything would smell like smoke.
"If you want to shower with me, you need to lose the clothes, Cas." Dean smirked as he climbed into the shower, eyes closing as the hot water streamed over his naked body.
Castiel watched Dean for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away from him even though he's seen his naked body dozens of times at this point. Anyone who did not find Dean Winchester to be attractive had problems. He wasted no more time in just looking and quickly stripped out of his own clothes to join the other in the hot shower.
He snatched up the bar of soap before Dean could and went to work lathering him up. Dean hummed in approval and moved his arms and turned when needed. By the time Castiel had finished and was rinsing him off, he was half aroused. He pressed a kiss on Dean's shoulder before kissing his mouth softly. Their foreheads rested against each other for a moment before Castiel grabbed the shampoo to wash his boyfriends hair.
Dean let out a long groan as Castiel's fingers worked into his scalp, massaging him as much as he was washing. As his boyfriend continued to take care of him, Dean's hands began to slide over Castiel's body, caressing every inch that he could reach while not disrupting what the other was doing.
"Shut your eyes and tip your head back." Dean did as he was told and allowed Castiel to rinse his hair out.
Once they were both properly cleaned, Castiel gently pushed Dean back until he was sitting on the built in seat. It was obvious that the other male was barely standing, but he knew Dean needed the release as much as he needed sleep. Leaning out of the shower just long enough to grab a clean cloth, he then sunk to his knees and took Deans hard length into his mouth.
"Cas..." Deans breath came out in a whisper as his head fell back against the wall behind him.
One of his hands tangled in the wet, dark hair and held him as he was sucked off. They tightened in warning a couple minutes later before he was groaning his release. Castiel gently wiped him down with the cloth when he was finished to make sure he was clean, then he quickly jerked himself off.
Once they were both able to stand, Castiel helped Dean out of the shower and gave him a quick pat down with the towel before wrapping it around his waist. Uncaring of his own nakedness, he slid one arm around Deans waist and brought him to the bedroom and helped him into the bed. He removed the towel from around Deans waist and rubbed him down a bit more before pulling the sheet up over him.
"Sleep well, Dean." Castiel headed for the door only to be stopped when a pillow hit his back.
Dean was half sitting up in the bed, glaring at him. "Where the hell are you going? Get your ass over here and into bed."
Castiel frowned as he picked the pillow up off the floor. "I didn't think you'd want me to sleep with you again."
"If I were still that pissed off with you I wouldn't have let you in the shower with me, let alone let you suck me off." He scooted over in the bed and held up the sheet. "Now get in here before I get cold."
Not wanting to complain about the truce, Castiel hurried over and got into the bed. Dean immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up tight against him, his chin resting on the top of his boyfriends. Castiel sighed as he slid an arm around Dean's waist and nuzzled into his neck. He was happy they were sharing the bed again but he knew they still had to talk about things. For now, he forced all thoughts from his mind as he melted into Dean and drifted off to sleep.
XXX
When Castiel woke up the next morning and still felt Dean's arm wrapped snugly around his waist, he smiled and let out a long sigh. He had hoped Dean would be there when he woke and he was. He buried his face into Dean's neck and inhaled his scent before tipping his head back enough to press a light kiss to his lips.
Dean tightened his arms around his boyfriend as his eyes slowly cracked open. "Hey, Cas." a sleepy smirk spread across his lips before he kissed Castiel back.
"Hello, Dean." Castiel started to sit up but Dean pulled him back down for another kiss. "It's late, don't you have work today?"
Dean shook his head as he watched Castiel move to the edge of the bed so he could get up. "I called in earlier this morning to take the day off. Since Alfie is there now, I won't have to feel guilty. Besides, it will do the kid some good to try a day on his own."
Dean's eyes roamed over his boyfriend's naked back and ass before the other got up and pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. Dean soon followed suit and they both headed into the kitchen for coffee. While the coffee was brewing, Castiel pulled some things out of the fridge and started making French toast for them to eat, with mandatory bacon on the side. Once some of it was done, Dean stole a couple pieces only to quickly move away with a curse when he got splattered with grease.
"Serves you right." Castiel said with a chuckle. "You should know better than to go near the stove when I'm cooking bacon when you don't have a shirt on." He slapped Dean's hand when the other reached for another piece, this time standing behind Castiel for protection. "Hey, hands off or there won't be any left for when the French toast is done. Go sit at the table and wait."
"You're no fun, Cas." Dean pouted, then got himself his coffee and did as he was told. He didn't have to wait long before a platter stacked high with steaming French toast and a bottle of syrup was put on the table in front of him. Once Castiel gave him a plate and silverware, he wasted no time in digging in. "How do you make something as simple as French toast taste so amazing?"
"A chef never gives away his secrets, even to his loved ones. Besides, if I tell everything to you, how am I ever going to surprise you with what I make? That's half the fun." Castiel added some powdered sugar to his own French toast and a little bit of syrup. If he had known Dean would be staying home, he'd have bought some fresh strawberries to go with it.
When Castiel had woken up to find Dean still beside him, he had expected things to be tense and awkward between them. He knew that Dean said he wasn't mad anymore, but he knew that wasn't true. They still needed to resolve things, so he knew that once it came up again, Dean's mood would sour. Not wanting the way things were going so far, Castiel started washing the dishes while Dean got himself another cup of coffee. Once he was done, he took a shower and changed.
Dean let out a whistle when Castiel came out of the bathroom. "Damn Cas, you going somewhere?" his eyes moved over the form fitting, but not skin tight, pants and white button up shirt his boyfriend was wearing. It looked like he even attempted to brush his hair but it of course didn't do much good. "Got a hot date I don't know about?"
Castiel rolled his eyes while he buttoned the cuffs of his shirt. "Yes, a hot date with Charlie and Dory. We're going shopping if you care to come along."
"No way in hell." Dean said instantly. He'd been shopping with Charlie once before. Never again. "You always dress up to go shopping?"
Castiel bit the inside of his lip. He didn't want to lie to Dean, but he didn't want to say anything at the same time. "She wants to go to a fancy restaurant afterwards so my normal attire isn't suitable." He decided that a little white lie was better now than potentially causing more problems. "If I knew you would be home, I'd have planned my day differently. We'll probably be gone for a few hours."
Dean flopped down on the couch, still in his sweatpants and nothing else, and turned on the TV. "You go ahead and have a nice girls day out. Just don't buy out the whole store."
Castiel went over to give Dean a lingering kiss. "I'll try and not be gone all day. I know you don't get day offs too often and I'd like to spend more time with you."
Dean snorted, "You're so sappy. Now go or Charlie will show up at the door to drag you away."
When Castiel arrived at Charlie's house fifteen minutes later, she told him as much as she and Dory came out. The three of them piled into Charlie's car after she looked Castiel over and gave her review on his choice in clothes, then headed to the large shopping center an hour away.
He knew that Dean assumed they were going clothes shopping, and Castiel saw no reason to correct him. In truth, he was going to a specific store in the mall called 'The Chopping Block', a store dedicated to cooking. There were pots and pans of all sizes, utensils made from multiple material types, shelves of cook books and a few walls worth of specialty herbs, spices and other dry ingredients. There was a small section of cold foods of hard to find items as well as a bar purely for sampling foods. It was a chef's heaven.
Castiel stood in the doorway staring wide-eyed at it. This place had been put in while he was away at college so it was his first time seeing it. Charlie slapped him on the back and laughed, startling him out of his daze.
"Didn't I tell you it is amazing? It has everything you need and everything you didn't realize you needed until you see it." Charlie nudged Castiel forward so they could properly enter the store.
"I lied to Dean. I told him I wouldn't be gone all day. Maybe I shouldn't have said that." Castiel couldn't help but smile and shake his head. When Charlie had told him it was big and amazing, he hadn't been expecting this. "I don't even know where to start." he went to the right and decided to start from one side and make his way across. Since he wasn't looking to buy anything today, he had no plan.
"Let me know if you see something you like so I can write it down." Dory was holding a notebook and pen as well as a folder that held various information. She was gathering prices so they could do some comparisons, all to help Castiel later.
Four hours later and the trio finally left the store, tired from being on their feet for so long but happy they accomplished what they went in for. Castiel had a small bag filled with ingredients he couldn't pass up and a new cook book. Charlie was munching on some chocolate covered Oreo's while Dory was adding up totals in the notebook while they walked.
After having a quick lunch, the three of them parted so Castiel could go to two appointments he had. By the time he finally got back to the apartment, it was already three in the afternoon and Dean was nowhere to be found. He was actually a little happy to see that Dean was still not lounging around on the couch.
It also meant he had time to do a few things he was not ready for Dean to know about yet. He quickly put the food away he bought and then went into the extra bedroom to pull a drawing pad out of one of his boxes there. After spending the day with Charlie and Dory, he had many ideas for things and he needed to sketch them up before he forgot.
When Dean came home an hour later, he quickly put the sketchbook away and went out to greet him. He found Dean looking around the room with a confused look on his face, but it was replaced with a smile when he saw his boyfriend.
"I don't know whether to be happy I don't see bags everywhere or suspicious that you may be hiding them somewhere." Dean kicked his shoes off at the door and removed his outer layer before heading into the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge. "So, did the girls drive you crazy or what?"
"No, I had a pleasant time with them. Charlie only made us watch her model clothes for an hour before she dragged us off to the arcade for some games. Thankfully with Dory there we didn't stay there for long either. Both of us are quite bad at them and Charlie does not go easy on anyone." Castiel leaned against the kitchen island watching Dean with a smile on his face. "The restaurant was overrated. Too fancy and expensive for my tastes with bite sized portions. You'd have either starved for lack of food or gone bankrupt if you ate until you were full."
Dean ran his tongue over his bottom lip after taking a swig from his beer. "I'm glad I didn't go with you then. I worked on Baby for a couple of hours before Sam dragged me out claiming that I needed a life. He made me go bowling with him and Jess. Bowling. I had to wear those dorky shoes and everything."
Castiel laughed as he imagined the fuss Dean put up over the shoes. "You're complaining but I bet you loved every minute of it. You never can say no to Sam. I bet you if he told you to dress in drag that you would do it as long as you got to pick the dress." When Dean's cheeks turned pink at that, he became curious then grinned, "No way. You've already done that before?"
Dean's face turned even brighter, "Only once and it was for Halloween, okay!" he started drinking his beer to try and cool his burning face, but the grin Castiel was giving him did not help. "And don't even think it. I will not cross dress for you!"
Castiel quickly shook his head, "I would never ask you to." he walked over to Dean and slid his hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. "I happen to enjoy you just like this." a kiss followed his words and then a grin. "You could never pull it off anyway. Not with that jaw line, even if you do have nice DSL's and long eyelashes."
"Damn straight! Wait, what?"
At that, Castiel burst into laughter. "How could you never had heard of DSLs? A jock like you?" he leaned up and sucked Dean's lower lip into his mouth, then nipped at it causing the other to make a sound in the back of his throat. "Dick sucking lips. They happen to be the second thing I noticed about you when I first saw you."
"And what was the first?" When Castiel grabbed his ass, he chuckled. "I thought so." he set his beer down on the counter so he could pull the shorter male up against him fully. "For me, I noticed your eyes first. I've never seen eyes as blue as yours, Cas." he kissed each of his eyelids before dipping down for a proper kiss, then moved away. "Now enough with this sappy shit. I don't like chick flick moments, remember?"
"Yes, because sharing your feelings is emasculating." Castiel then took Dean by the hand and led him into the living room where he pushed him down onto the couch. "I wanted to wait to talk to you until tomorrow, but I've changed my mind."
Dean noticed the change in mood and frowned. "What's up?"
"I lied a little to you this morning. I did go shopping with Charlie and Dory, but it wasn't for clothes. I also then went to two other places before coming home." when he saw Dean stiffen up in preparation for bad news, he quickly put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "The first was with a real estate agent and the other was at the bank. I've been pre-approved for a loan." At Dean's confused look he smiled softly. "I'm staying here Dean, with you. I'm starting my own bakery."
Instead of looking happy, Dean only frowned more and his eyes held a bit of pain. "Cas...you didn't turn down the chance to intern just for me, did you?"
He had a feeling this might come up so he was prepared. "No, Dean, I turned them down for me. I already know mostly everything and anything I don't know I can learn on my own. The only thing I don't have is experience. I will get that as I work. I also want to stay close to my parents and friends, and yes you too. I figured if I don't have to give up anything, then why should I?"
Dean suddenly pulled Castiel onto his lap and crushed their mouths together in a hard kiss. When it broke, his arms slid around the smaller males waist to hold him in place. "So you're not going to leave me behind again?" his voice was quiet and his eyes were lowered.
"I will never leave you, Dean. Not if I can help it. So stop with those depressing thoughts I know are going through your head right now and kiss me properly."
Once again Dean crushed their mouths together but this time it started soft and slow while his hands caressed Castiel's face. He pulled away for a moment to look into blue eyes before going in for another kiss. His tongue ran across Castiel's lower lip before sliding inside to dance with his. Castiel rocked against him and whimpered, wanting more, but Dean continued the slow and gentle kiss. His fingers dug lightly into Castiel's scalp drawing another moan from him which he took into his own mouth. When the kiss finally broke a moment later, Castiel was panting and his eyes were glazed over with lust.
"How was that, Angel?" Dean asked with a smirk. "You look properly ravished now." His hands dropped to squeeze Castiel's thighs then slowly slid up them to rest on his hips.
Castiel was boneless against him, his face now pressed into Dean's neck while he panted and his hands clutching his shirt. "Mm yes, properly ravished." he grinned as he got up off Dean's lap and held out a hand. "Now why don't we go to bed and you can give me a proper fuck?"
"I can't say no to that."
Dean took Castiel's hand and allowed himself to be led again, this time to their room. Castiel pressed him up against the hallway wall and attacked his neck while ripping off his shirt. He didn't stop his attack until he had Dean stripped down to his boxers. He grinned against Dean's skin as he palmed his lover through the thin fabric, pulling a deep groan from the taller male.
"Cas," he panted, "this is not the bed." Dean pushed Castiel away only to turn them around and pin him to the wall instead. "Not that I'm complaining. It's been awhile since we've done this vertically."
"Not true." Castiel let out a gasp as Dean ground their hips together then rolled them. "We fucked in the shower yesterday morning." When he felt Dean tug at his shirt, he obediently raised his arms so it could be removed. Next he stepped out of his pants. "We have a lot of shower sex."
"Mm, you're right." Dean squeezed his lovers ass before lifting him up and pressing him even harder into the wall. "I meant like this. Desperate," he rolled his hips again and mouthed open kisses along the other's jaw before lowering to his pulse point and nipping lightly. "can't get close enough no matter what. Can't stop touching you." he raised his head to meet Castiel's blue eyes. "I'll never get enough of you, Cas."
Castiel crushed their mouths together in a rough kiss, more teeth than anything else, before grabbing a handful of Dean's hair and pulled his head back. "Bed. Now." he growled, his fingers digging into Dean's back and sliding down, leaving red trails behind them and pulling a groan from him.
The pair stumbled backwards into the room, nearly tripping over each other as they removed their underwear on the way in. Once to the bed, Dean pushed Castiel down and grinned at him. The other looked up at him with lust filled blue eyes as he watched Dean circle the bed to get the lube from the bedside table. When Dean turned around, it was to find Castiel on his hands and knees, presenting himself to be prepared. Castiel winked at him over his shoulder before wiggling his ass.
"C'mon Dean, it's not going to lube itself. Though that would make things go a lot faster." Castiel chuckled before letting out a yelp as Dean smacked his ass.
"There's no need to be in a rush, Cas. You said you're not going to leave me and that means I have all the time I want. I can play with you nice and slow..." he rubbed the ass cheek that he'd slapped before slowly sliding his hand in further to run a finger down Castiel's crack to his balls. "Draw things out if I want to." this time he reached further in to grip Castiel's hard cock in a light, barely there squeeze causing him to whimper. "No rush at all."
"If you don't hurry up, I'm going to fuck you instead." Castiel threatened but his voice was shaky and more air than sound.
Again Dean slowly ran his finger along Castiel's crack before stopping at his entrance. With a grin, he slowly rubbed over it but used hardly any pressure. Castiel's back arched and he tried to press up into Dean's hand but he only moved it away. He swore and fisted the sheets as Dean did it again.
"You're going to stay like this and not move until I tell you to. Understood?" Dean's voice was firm and serious and left no room for argument.
"Oh fuck." the smaller male shut his eyes as his body trembled.
He loved it when Dean got all dominant and controlling like this. It usually ended with him passing out and sleeping through most of the next day and being so sore that he couldn't sit up straight. The last time they did it rough, Dean had been visiting him at college and he ended up missing two days of classes. He had no regrets about that though. It was the first time Dean had visited him and they'd been apart for a couple months.
Now, though, it was different. Castiel knew that Dean was possessive of him at times, but not so much so that it caused problems. Right now, he knew Dean was doing this to reassure himself that Castiel was not going anywhere. Dean wanted to show Castiel just how grateful he was that the other was staying.
When Dean started running his tongue over his lovers puckered entrance, Castiel let out a long whine and pressed back into the feeling, trying to fuck himself on Deans tongue. Dean chuckled and gripped his hips so he couldn't move, then drove in as far as he could. Once Castiel started to relax a bit, he started adding fingers.
"So good, babe. You're pulling me right in." Dean groaned as Castiel's body held onto his fingers tightly, refusing to let him pull them out. He leaned forward again to suck a mark onto one of his ass cheeks, then chuckled. "If you want me to fuck you, you gotta relax."
Castiel let out a shuddering sigh as he forced himself to relax enough and let go of Dean's fingers. "Then stop playing with me and fuck me already!"
Dean swatted his lovers ass as he moved away to position himself. "You're such a cock slut, Cas."
"Only for you." he rolled his hips in invitation causing another drop of precome to land on the already wet spot beneath him.
Dean got off the bed and pulled his lover closer to the edge to make things easier. He slowly slid into Castiel and both men groaned at the heat and tightness between them. Dean leaned forward and gave Castiel an awkward kiss on the corner of his mouth before placing another kiss between his shoulder blades. When Castiel rolled his hips, Dean let out a growl before snapping his hips hard and fast, going at a punishing pace right off the start.
"Fuck, fuck!" Castiel rocked backwards to meet every thrust Dean gave him and squeezed his muscles to make things even tighter for Dean. "Just like that. I'm so close."
"We can't have you coming just yet, can we?" Dean said in a teasing tone as he pulled out completely causing the smaller male to let out a frustrated groan. "Easy, Cas, I'm not done with you yet." He rubbed Castiel's back before guiding him over onto his back and then up the bed. Dean crawled onto the bed after him before entering him again. "Feels so good, Cas."
Castiel chuckled, "I try my best." a roll of his hips had Dean sinking in to the hilt and he arched off the bed as his prostate was hit. "Fuck, do that again."
"That was the plan."
Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean's chest and pulled him down for a deep kiss. A whimper escaped his throat when Dean brushed his prostate again with another slow roll of his hips. He continued to thrust slowly and gently this time instead of the rough and frantic pace he started with. They kissed again just as softly and slowly as their pace while their hands moved over each other's bodies as if they were memorizing each dip, curve and ripple of muscle.
Both of them were panting now and sweat slowly slid down the skin between them, allowing their bodies to move together more smoothly. The sounds of their heavy breathing and moans filled the room and increased the arousal of both men. Dean worked hard to get every gasp and noise he could out of Castiel while the other did the same to him.
As Dean pumped into him, Castiel had slowly slid up the bed until he was close enough to grab the headboard for leverage. He pressed down every time Dean rocked into him and the adjusted angle had most of his thrusts hitting his prostate. Castiel moaned louder as he was once again on the brink of his release.
"If you stop this time," he panted, nails digging into Deans back to keep him in place, "I will kill you." A breathy chuckle was his answer.
Dean's pace sped up as his thrusting became more shallow as he reached his own release. With one last thrust, this time sinking all the way in, Dean tightened his arms around Castiel's back as he let out a long groan.
"C-Castiel." Dean's words were broken by a moan before he crushed their mouths together, swallowing Castiel's own moan and his own name as the other came.
They lay together, clutching each other tightly, as their bodies shook from their orgasms. Dean tried to roll away once he'd caught his breath, but Castiel wrapped his legs around his waist and held him still.
"Where do you think you're going?" he grinned sleepily before giving Dean a long and deep kiss, ending with a nip to his lower lip. "I'm comfortable like this."
Dean rolled his eyes but returned the kiss. "You're lucky I love you." he rocked his hips just to tease but they both ended up gasping from the over stimulation.
"Is it bad to want to stay connected to you like this for as long as possible?"
Castiel rolled them over to their sides but refused to remove his legs from around Dean's waist. His hands found their way into the other's hair and he pulled gently, causing Dean to let out a soft sigh and let his head fall back. Castiel immediately attacked his neck with wet kissing before leaving a deep purple mark behind.
"No, but if we don't clean up, we'll be glued to each other and it will hurt when we do pull away." Dean looked down between them at the mess that now coated both his and Castiel's chest and stomach. "I don't know how you can still shoot so much with how much sex we have."
The other laughed and wiggled his hips. "What can I say? I'm a stallion."
Dean snorted and rolled them again so he was on his back and Castiel was sitting on him. "Alright Stallion, grab me something to clean up this mess with."
Castiel pouted before smirking. "Why?" his hand reached behind himself and down to fondle Dean's balls. "You'll be good to go again in a few minutes. No point in cleaning up when we're just going to get messy again."
"You're insatiable." Dean smacked his lovers ass with a grin.
"Yes, I am. It's a good thing your stamina is almost as good as mine is."
Castiel leaned down and captured Dean's mouth in a hungry kiss. Just as Dean started kissing him back and his hands started wandering, Dean's phone rang.
"Just ignore it." Castiel said as Dean groaned.
"I can't, it could be work calling." He sat up in the bed slowly as the other tightened his grip around him in more ways than one. "Shit!" his head fell forward to rest on Castiel's shoulder as smaller male chuckled.
"Then we'll have to make this quick."
Knowing how his lover was, Dean managed to get up and out of the bed while Castiel remained wrapped around him like an octopus. It wasn't easy when he'd just used up most of his energy having sex, but he managed to walk to the living room with them like this to find his pants. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his missed call and saw that it was Garth. After listening to the message, he dropped the phone back onto his pants on the floor before carrying Castiel into the bathroom.
"I've got to go to the station."
"Hm." Castiel finally put his feet down after Dean slid free, then moved to the door. "You get in the shower and I'll join you in a second." he then ran out of the bathroom.
Dean cranked up the hot water and stepped under, wincing at the temperature until he got used to it, then sighed as the power jets went to work on his muscles. He was in the middle of washing his hair when Castiel was back and climbing in with him.
Castiel grabbed the bar of soap and happily washed Dean up before giving him a kiss. "Go on and get dressed and drink your coffee." He swatted his ass as he shooed him out of the shower. "I'll see you when you get home."
"You're too good to me, Cas. I'll make it up to you later."
"Oh, I know you will. Now go or Rufus will pitch a fit."
XXX
THREE MONTHS LATER
Castiel paced around the room nervously, running his hands through his hair constantly making it stick up even more than usual. He held an index card in his hand that he had already read over a hundred times but did so once again. He could hear the crowd of people waiting for them outside and it made his stomach do somersaults.
"Cas, calm down. Everything is going to go great." Dean entered the room wearing his own suit and holding Castiel's tie. "Now come here so I can get this one you. You wouldn't want to go out there with it on backwards for the big day. Though I always thought it was cute."
The other snorted but did as he was told. "I still think Charlie went a little overboard with the decorations. I didn't want something so big and fancy."
The small tables each held little treat bags on them and there was a buffet table filled with small desserts. Balloons floated around the room while ribbons and streamers hung from the ceiling. There was even a special table set up in the middle for Dean and Castiel to sit with their parents.
"It's Charlie. Do you really think she would have let you get away with not doing something like this? Dory was just as excited about helping as she was." Dean finished doing up Castiel's tie, then gave him a kiss. "You ready to do this?"
Castiel took a deep breath then let it out. "As ready as I'll ever be." he put the index card back in his jacket pocket and smiled.
Dean moved ahead of Castiel and opened the ornate wood door before doing the same with the screen door and propping that open. The crowd waiting out front behind a gate of ribbon cheered as they came out. Dean grinned and waved and Castiel did the same, though he had a blush on his cheeks.
Dean stepped to one side of the door to allow Castiel by and gave him a warm smile as the other looked at him. Castiel smiled back before clearing his throat and turning to the happy faces before them.
"Hello everyone and thank you for coming." Castiel chuckled when a high pitched whistle went out followed by the loud cheering from their friends. "This has been a dream of mine for a very long time now and I am grateful to all those who helped me get here. I am most grateful for having an amazing man by my side who refused to let me run away when I became overwhelmed by everything."
"Damn straight." Dean said with a grin and now he too was blushing at the attention. "Now get to the good part so we can eat!" The crowd laughed and Dean gave Castiel a wink.
Castiel turned to his parents that stood nearby and gave them a hug. His mother handed him a large pair of scissors and had tears of joy in her eyes, his father a proud smile on his face. He turned from them and opened the scissors to take the ribbon between the blades.
"Without further ado, I'd like to welcome you all to my pride and joy, A Little Slice of Heaven."
With that, Castiel cut the ribbon and so began the grand opening of his bakery.