Chapter Fifteen
Dean liked kissing. It was quickly becoming his favourite thing to do. In fact, he was beginning to wonder why he ever did anything else.
He stole kisses whenever and wherever he could.
Castiel would emerge from his bedroom in the morning, his pyjamas rumpled and his hair sticking out in all directions, blearily rubbing sleep from his eyes, and Dean would kiss him. He always tasted like coffee because Dean always made sure there was a fresh cup waiting for him. Still, Castiel would protest that he hadn't brushed his teeth yet, so Dean would wait for him to finish in the bathroom and then kiss him again. This time Castiel would let the kiss go deeper and Dean would take great pleasure in running his tongue over those pearly white teeth, even as his fingers raked Castiel's perfectly combed hair back into a tussled mess. "Mm, minty," he would say, and Castiel would laugh. It was a beautiful sound and Dean, of course, had to kiss him again.
Dean would make waffles for breakfast and before Castiel could lick the syrup from his lips Dean would lean in to do it for him. Or he would make eggs and bacon, because bacon-flavoured Castiel was possibly more delicious than bacon on its own. Castiel would wash up the dishes and Dean would slip his arms around him to press a kiss against his cheek, and then nibble lightly on his ear until Castiel gave a breathless moan and turned in his embrace to kiss him properly. Dean didn't even care about the soap-sudsy handprints that would be left on his shirt.
He would kiss Castiel goodbye at the door when he left for work, reluctantly walk away from him and then hurry back to snatch one last kiss. He would get into his car and glance back and Castiel would be watching him so he would roll down the window and beckon him over and Cas would lean in to kiss him.
Dean would think about those lips all day as he was working. Sometimes the wait would feel far too long, and he would text Castiel asking him to bring him lunch. He would turn up with sandwiches and they would sit outside on a bench together to eat them. Dean would run the risk of spending too long on his break because he would get distracted – sometimes he didn't even finish his sandwich, but it was worth it.
Coming home was also an excellent excuse to pull Castiel in for a kiss. He had to reacquaint himself with the taste of his lips, the texture of his hair, the firm press of his body against his own.
"How was your day?" Castiel would ask.
"Better now," Dean would answer.
Castiel would capture his lips again for long, luxurious moments, before pulling back and asking cheekily, "and now?"
Dean would grin at him. "Much, much better."
Cooking dinner would take longer than strictly necessary because Castiel would lean against the counter, watching him with a little smile tugging at the corner of his lips and Dean had to know what that smile felt like against his own. Cas would also steal food from the chopping board and hold it teasingly between his teeth until Dean leaned in to steal it back. Naturally, he needed a taste-tester as he was adding herbs and spices, but he couldn't trust that Castiel wasn't just telling him it was good because he was smitten with him so Dean would have to lick his way into his mouth to double-check.
"You're such a messy eater," Dean would tell him at the dinner table. It didn't matter if there were traces of crumbs or sauce on his lips or not; it was the perfect excuse to kiss him again.
They often curled up on the couch together in the evenings to watch T.V., but it was difficult to follow the plot of any given episode because neither of them spent very long actually looking at the screen.
Goodnight kisses were also a must. It took every ounce of Dean's willpower not to just pull Castiel into his bedroom so the kissing wouldn't have to stop.
But Castiel wanted to take things slowly, and Dean didn't mind because he friggin' loved kissing. It helped that he was remarkably good at it; he would press in deeply to make Castiel groan into his mouth, and pull back just enough to make Castiel chase after him. He would tease and nibble and suck and his hands would be everywhere and Castiel would push him up against the wall and neither of them would let up until they were both breathless.
He loved kissing so much that he often forgot that public displays of affection, particularly between a gay couple, had a tendency to make people feel uncomfortable. He earned more than a few dirty looks at the supermarket (although Marjorie down at the bookstore just gushed about young love when Castiel read a page from one of her books out loud and Dean found he couldn't resist the sound of that deep baritone). A few parents turned their children's faces away and hurried them along the street, and one or two teenage boys yelled out homophobic slurs at them. When met with such hostility Dean would break away from Castiel like he had been burned, but Castiel would only take his hand and squeeze gently to reassure him. Dean took that to mean that he shouldn't let the opinions of strangers bother him, and continued touching and kissing Castiel whenever he felt like it.
On one particularly beautiful sunny day, Dean's anxiety apparently decided that the world didn't seem very threatening. The birds were singing, the clouds were fluffy and white, and his knees weren't aching as badly as they used to. He had absolutely no desire to stay cooped up inside, so he invited Castiel to come out for a walk with him. They strolled along the pavement, hand in hand, and Dean hummed happily, utterly content.
"Filthy faggots!" a voice spat.
Dean froze.
It was Devon, the man from the barbecue who had warned them about 'polluting' their street.
"Just keep walking," Castiel urged in an undertone. He tugged Dean's hand to get him moving again, but Dean's legs wouldn't cooperate.
This wasn't some dirt-bag teenager who was all talk and no follow through. Devon was tall and heavily built. He had short-cropped hair and a wicked scar across his jaw and his cold eyes glinted with malice.
"Ignore him," Castiel said. "He's just spoiling for a fight. If we don't give him one, he'll back off."
"What's the matter, pansy?" Devon called. "Worried that you're not man enough to take me on?"
Working on the cars had strengthened his arms somewhat, but all of a sudden Dean felt stick-thin and as fragile as glass. Devon had muscles bulging everywhere. He could crush him into dust.
"Dean, don't respond to him. Let's just go home. Come on. It is only a few blocks."
Dean took a stumbling step forward but his knees had seized up on him and blinding white pain shot up his legs. He gasped and almost fell, but Castiel's arms were there, holding him up.
Disgust was written all over Devon's face. "Your fucking fairy husband has been pounding you into the mattress, hasn't he, you filthy dog? You can't even walk straight!"
Hot bile rushed up his throat. Dean gagged and doubled over. He was going to be sick.
"Dean, you're fine," Castiel said urgently. "I won't let him hurt you."
But Devon had stalked closer. "Oh yeah? And what do you think you're going to do?"
Castiel straightened, moving almost imperceptibly so he was standing in front of Dean. "Whatever I have to."
"You don't have the fucking balls to fight me."
"I doubt I would need them," Castiel said coolly. "I have known women far tougher than you."
Devon's features transformed with rage and Dean realised they were about to have the crap beaten out of them. His every nerve ending screeched with panic but he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.
Oh god, not again. Not now. They needed to get the hell out of here-
But his body wasn't listening to him. His knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. He hunched over his stomach, chest heaving desperately as he tried to get air into his lungs.
Devon was going to punch and kick a whole rainbow of bruises into his flesh and Dean wouldn't even be able to fight back. He would just have to lie there and take it like a dog, a kicked dog, a filthy, worthless-
"Don't come one step closer or you will regret it," Castiel said. He was still standing protectively over Dean, even though his legs were still working fine and he could have fled.
Devon growled and made a run at him.
Dean flinched back with a strangled cry.
Castiel side-stepped neatly, avoiding a blow from Devon's meaty fist. Devon lunged at him again and Castiel simply ducked under his arm. He dodged a few more times and then, when Devon was already off-balance, he stuck a foot out. Devon tripped over it and slammed spectacularly to the ground.
Devon rolled over with a groan and raised a hand to his busted nose. It came away covered in blood. "Why you fucking- that's assault! I could sue you!"
"You would need a witness to back you up," someone said.
Jeremy was there; he must have heard the commotion.
"You saw it, didn't you? This man attacked me!"
Dean looked to Jeremy, afraid that he was going to take Devon's side.
"I saw the whole thing," Jeremy said. "And if you take this to court, I will tell the judge that you attacked these two men, unprovoked, and then managed to trip over your own feet. Neither of them lifted a finger against you."
Devon's face went purple and veins bulged in his neck.
"You should probably get that nose checked out at the doctor's," Jeremy continued calmly. "It is probably broken."
Devon cursed at him but by now there was a crowd of onlookers, and Devon had discovered that he couldn't count on his neighbours to take his side.
He scrambled up and stalked away, muttering furiously under his breath.
"Are you alright?" Castiel asked gently.
Dean climbed shakily to his feet. "Y-yeah."
"If you want to lay charges-" Jeremy offered.
"No, we're fine," Castiel said. "But thank you."
Jeremy nodded. "No worries. You two take care." He went off to disperse the others, leaving Dean and Castiel alone.
"I would never let anyone hurt you, Dean," Castiel said. "You know that, don't you?"
"I know. I'm sorry. I just-"
"You don't have to apologise. We're okay."
"Thanks to you. I had no idea you were such a badass."
"It was nothing."
"No," Dean said. He pushed away the lingering edge of panic and pulled Castiel in for a kiss. "It was damn sexy."
ooOOoo