AN: Here is the first in a string of Cas and Dean chapters. I hope that you enjoy them. The lines that Cas reads from The Army of Darkness come from the actual DVD cover. Once again thank you for the reviews and encouragement. Special thanks to Mummabro and sidz2891 for the regular feeback. You rock. Now on with the chapter.
The day burned past him in a whirlwind of activity and thoughts. By the time that 4:00 rolled around, Cas had decided that he had earned an early dismissal time. He still had to go to the store on the way home, anyway, to get the items needed for dinner. And he was not nervous at all. No, I am not nervous at all about my friend's brother coming over to fix my ex-boyfriend's motorcycle. This is a perfectly normal situation, that requires no nervousness.
He was actually, not as nervous as he would have been a few days ago. The fact that he kept packaging away, or trying to package away, his feelings had made an impact. He could almost believe himself when he declared in his head, that this was a budding friendship and nothing more.
He had managed to get all of the burger fixings that he thought that he needed, and he headed back to the condo. When he got to the entryway with his large bag of groceries clutched in front of him, he almost didn't see Dean standing there waiting for him. "I was just about to text you. I'm a little early." Dean was holding a large metal tool box in front of him. It looked heavy, but he did not seem to be struggling with it.
"I just had to swing by the grocery store for our dinner tonight. I thought that I would get to it during my lunch break, but lunch didn't happen as planned." Cas smiled and nodded his head toward the elevator. "Did you have trouble parking? This neighborhood doesn't really have much available."
"I got lucky. I'm just down the street at the Corcoran Garage." He shifted a little as they entered the elevator. His duffel bag slung over his shoulder bounced into a more settled position across his back. Cas stole a glance over at Dean who stood at his side. He readjusted his position in the elevator to get a better look. He leaned against the wall and tried to look casual.
"You have a nice drive out?"
"Meh, I am not a fan of city driving. Me and Baby like the countryside." Dean smiled over to Cas.
Cas let a short laugh slip out of his lips before he stifled it. "Baby?"
"What? You don't name your modes of transportation?" Dean's smile broadened, and he couldn't seem to help chuckling along with Cas. "I guess it is a little silly."
"Nah, okay, well, a little. What kind of car is it?"
"Ah, sad. You don't remember, Baby? She is an Impala. She use to belong to my dad. Sam was nice enough to take the house, while I got to keep the car." The elevator arrived at Cas' floor and they walked down the hall to his door. Cas thought about the splitting of the two items. Knowing what he did of Sam's house, he was sure that Dean was downplaying the way that the two items had been divided up.
"Well, here we are." Cas juggled the groceries so that he could get his keys out. He pushed the door open and they walked in. He immediately went to the kitchen to set down the bag and Dean stood with his duffel and tool box at the door.
"So, um, where could I put this?" Dean shuffled about with his burdens.
"Oh, sorry. Um, anywhere." Cas motioned at the floor by the door.
Dean looked at the spot with disapproval. "Nah, that won't do. I'll just dirty up your white carpets."
"Oh, um, here." Cas quickly swooped past Dean to the hall closet. He pulled out an old blanket and put it on the floor. "Set it on that. It is ancient and not in a now I'm collectible kind of way." Dean set the tool box down, and Cas let his gaze wander over his arms. They were strong arms, tanned by all of the hours that he likely spent out at his uncle's place working on cars.
"So should I toss my bag in the guest room?" Dean motioned toward the room that he and Sam had shared last Friday night.
Or you could just stow it in my room. Gah, shut-up Cas. Friends.
"Yes, that would be fine," Cas said instead.
Dean went into the room and came out just moments later with a DVD in his hands. "Think fast." He tossed it over to Cas who miraculously caught it.
He looked down at the cover. Army of Darkness. "Um, okay. I'll bite. What is this?"
"Only the best movie ever." Dean smiled as he came over to the kitchen bar stools and plunked himself down.
Cas flipped the case over and couldn't help but say, "I highly doubt that."
"What, you doubt me?" Dean said in a mockingly high pitched voice.
Cas began reading from the back of the case, "Trapped in time, surrounded by evil, low on gas…" He began laughing then. "Is this a comedy?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say that exactly. It does have it's comic moments. Plus, Ash. He rocks. I can't believe that you haven't seen this."
"Really, you can't believe that I have missed this? Clearly, Sam has not told you enough about me."
"I based my assumptions on the guy that I met at karaoke night, not on Sam's tales."
Cas continued putting away the groceries while carrying around the case. He began reading again from a later portion of the description. "Bruce Campbell reprises his role from the Evil Dead series as Ash, the handsome, shotgun-toting, chainsaw-armed department store clerk from S-Mart's housewares division." Cas laughed again, "Yes, Dean, this most definitely is a comedy."
"So, what do you think?" Dean was swiveling back and forth on the stool as he spoke.
"About what?" Cas had to smile at Dean's enthusiasm.
"You must be initiated into the world of the Army of Darkness." Dean laughed and continued. "We must watch this tonight after I work my magic on the Triumph."
"How can I refuse?"
"You really can't." Then Dean asked, "So when can I sneak a peek at the awesome bike?"
"Let me change out of my work clothes and we can head down to the storage locker."
"Storage locker?"
"Yeah, the complex has a limited number of storage lockers and parking spaces underground. I happen to have a parking space and a locker." Cas smiled as he remembered how he manipulated his way into obtaining not just one, but both of the most sought after perks of the condominium complex.
"I take it that this was quite the score for you," Dean said.
"Not to brag, but yes. Gabe lives down the hall and he was crowing for a week when he got a storage locker. He doesn't have a parking space. So, he bought a Mini-Cooper so that he could park it in the locker. It's pretty funny looking in there, but it works." Cas just couldn't stop smiling at Dean. It seemed that every time he turned to him, he felt his face stretching out uncontrollably.
"Is the locker big enough for us to work in?"
"Um, maybe. I have to confess, I have zero clue about anything mechanical. I imagine that I could figure things out, if I had to, but really, it is not instinctual for me. I don't know if you need a few feet of space or an entire hanger to do what you need to do." Cas started making his way over to his bedroom to change. "I'll be out in a sec, then you can see the locker for yourself."
As he approached the room he began running through his clothing options. He did have casual clothes for housework and weekends, but nothing that was quite casual enough for grease and mechanical repairs. He threw back the door to the large walk-in closet and went directly to the back. Beneath the hanging clothes was a squat set of drawers. He was pretty sure that he had some old jeans in there. He unbuttoned his dress shirt and loosened his tie. He tossed them aside in the laundry bin.
He heard Dean holler back, "Mind if I raid your fridge for a drink while I wait?"
Cas slipped out to the door and replied, "There's beer in the back of the fridge, but it probably isn't cold yet. I have water and soda in the door if you want that for now. Or just rummage. Mi casa es su casa." He noticed then that Dean had paused in his movement toward the fridge to fix him with a stare. Cas suddenly felt much more naked than he normally would feel with just his shirt off. He felt the blush that threatened to overtake him and he ducked back into the room out of sight. That was not a friend look. He told himself this at first. No, that was the look of a man that was shocked by your pale, white chest. Get some sun already. He looked down at his chest feeling suddenly self-conscious.
He went back into his closet to find a suitable shirt. He had a tee shirt buried in the closet. It was a deep blue. As he slipped it over his head, it was then that he noticed that he had been wearing Dean's necklace. Did he see it? How could he not see the black necklace on your lily white chest? How do I explain this? You explain things for a living, you got this. He pulled out a pair of old, worn jeans and replaced the slacks that he was wearing with them. He reached up to his neck and undid the clasp on the necklace. Secretly, he was sorry to remove it. It felt like it belonged on him.
He walked back out to the kitchen, this time fully clothed, thank you very much. "Here, I believe that this belongs to you." He held out the necklace to Dean.
"Oh, how did you get that?" Dean reached up to it, and cupped it in his hand.
"I found it when I was cleaning the guest room. I didn't want to lose it so I put it on. I kept thinking that wearing it would help me remember to give it to Sam, to give to you, but that didn't happen. I kind of got a little too use to it, I guess." Cas was doing his best not to sound too awkward about having worn Dean's necklace for nearly a week like a love-sick school girl. He hoped that he was successful.
"Thanks, I thought that I lost it." Dean slipped the necklace back around his neck.
"It seemed mystical. Does it have a story?" Cas went to the fridge and plucked out a water to match Dean. He leaned against the counter as Dean answered.
"I don't buy into all that mystical hokum, but Sammy gave it to me. He said that it was a protection god or a talisman or something like that. I don't really remember. He got it for me when I was going through a rough patch. He thought that it would help." Dean took a long gulp of the water from the bottle, and Cas' felt his thoughts race over the picture that Dean was creating for him in that moment. His imagination tipped into an image of Dean pulling back the water just a little to let it pour over his face and chest. It was ridiculous, but he didn't care. Dean should be a water model. What the Hell is a water model, Cas? He should model everything. I would go broke buying his products. Wanna buy a cheese slicer? Sure Dean. Wanna buy a ball of twine? Don't mind if I do.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Dean asked with a slight smirk gracing his face. Damn it, he can read my mind. Shut up, brain.
"Uh, no."
"Haha, now I have to know." Dean leaned forward.
"Get use to disappointment," and because he could redirect like Sam, he did, "Let's go look at the bike."
"Unfair, but okay. Don't think that I didn't see what you just did there."
"I don't know what you could mean." Cas smiled and walked casually over to the door, "Well, are you coming or not?"
He laughed again. "Yeah, you win. I'm coming." Dean got up then and followed him out the door.