Author's Note:
Alright so it's a shorter chapter but it was so cute I couldn't help it. Sorry for the late upload, got some shit I've been working through so please be patient with me :) Take care, you guys
Dean found that the following few days would've been the worst part of the hospital visit, at least, if it weren't for Castiel. They'd weaned him off of the painkillers and he slept far less. There was daytime TV but it was never any good, boredom would've set in fast.
The others were encouraged to go elsewhere, Dean was the only one left in the hospital from their group and he was pretty sick of hearing how bored everyone was. Not to mention he would've preferred if Jet slept in a bed instead of waiting around for him to get out too. It wasn't easy to convince them, but Dean managed to whittle it down to just Cas staying the night, plus visitation by the others.
He was happy to have Cas with him. Cas didn't complain like the others, he sat quietly and smiled when Dean looked at him. He read books that Sam gave him when Dean was asleep and otherwise enjoyed the shitty TV selection.
"It's just us," Dean said after another checkup, it was late and the lights were out. No one else had been added to their room, Dean figured it was because of Cas' odd nature but he didn't say anything.
"It is," Cas agreed softly and looked up, the dim lighting almost seemed to glow around him. "How are you doing?"
"You stole my question," Dean smirked and reached over to take Cas' hand in his, "But I'm fine. My chest hurts a little bit, and my throat's raw."
"So… kinda like a really bad cold."
"I guess so," Dean laughed and held Cas' hand a little tighter. "I'm breathing better, doctor just told me it's looking good. I might not need to get an oxygen tank at all."
Cas smiled, a little sad but still happy to hear it. "That's good news, I hope they're right."
"Yeah. So what's going on in your head? You don't sleep much." Dean had been wondering for days already, it was about damn time he got a chance to ask properly.
Cas shrugged and looked down at their hands, his felt tense all of a sudden. "I'm worried about nightmares. I sleep well when I'm with you, though."
Dean smiled and gave a light squeeze, "I'm here to help you through, don't worry."
"Thanks, Dee." Cas leaned forward and kissed his cheek before nuzzling lightly. "So I noticed you're not tired right now either." It was a quick change in conversation but Dean didn't mind, he could tell Cas wasn't exactly up to the topic just yet.
"Nope, I've slept a lot lately, guess it caught up to me." Dean adjusted his position to sit up some more. He wanted to keep talking despite Cas' displeasure in such a serious topic, and by the sound of Cas' tone it was a mutual thought. Maybe Cas had something in mind, Dean figured asking wouldn't hurt "You got something you wanna do?"
"Well… want to play 20 questions again?" Cas smiled sheepishly and Dean almost laughed.
"For real? It didn't last all that long the last time we did it."
"Yeah, just stupid questions maybe. Something to get our minds off stuff." Cas' wings shifted and refolded another way, maybe shy or uncomfortable. Dean couldn't quite tell which, either way though he was more than happy to play games with Cas. "Sam gave me your phone charger, let's look up some questions to ask."
Dean couldn't say no to that face, Cas looked so happy as he played around with Dean's phone. "Alright, you start it off then."
"Okay, what's the best way to relax?"
"Put your feet up with a cold beer, watch some favourite movies or shows." Dean answered immediately; it didn't take any real thought processing. Though that was Cas' goal, so 'so far so good'.
"Yeah, that's a pretty good way, but nothing tops a joint."
Dean coughed and looked at Cas with wide eyes, "You smoked? I thought you were abducted at 18, when did you find the time?"
"I was a teenager, Dee. Of course I got my hands on something, just turned out that I had an easier time getting weed than beer." Cas sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Really could use a good toke or two right now."
"Gateway drugs, man I'm surprised you're not addicted to meth."
"I tried it one time, lost all my teeth."
Dean raised an eyebrow, "For real?"
"Yeah, MacLeod put them back in for me." Cas smirked after a moment, just long enough to make Dean question the truth in that statement. "Ohhh I got you!" Cas cheered with a quiet clap and Dean quickly shook his head.
"You almost had me, almost."
"Whatever you say."
"Gimme that," Dean snatched the phone away and scanned the question list, "Okay druggie, what's one food you'd never give up?"
"Hmmmm…." Cas' expression fell serious and he looked down, distantly pondering until he nodded shallowly. "Cheeseburgers."
"You had to think that long for cheeseburgers?"
"Shut up, I like a lot of things. What about you? I'm guessing pizza?"
"Nope," Dean shook his head with a grin, "Pie."
"Pizza's a kinda pie, I was sorta right."
"You're wrong, admit it."
"Alright, alright. What flavour?"
That one got him. Dean's brow furrowed and he found himself staring down at his blanket in thought, "I… oh that's a hard one. I guess apple. Yeah, that's my pick."
"Good choice." Cas took the phone back, "What compliment do you often get that doesn't have anything to do with your looks?"
"I'm fast," Dean smiled proudly, "I'm the best sprinter my school had; track and field was my best sport."
"Is it even a sport?"
Dean knew Cas was just poking fun but he still felt a little rustled. "Well, yeah. I mean why not? It involves running, sometimes a relay so you pass a baton. There are jumps, throwing stuff. How's that any different than another sport?"
"Okay, okay, I was just asking." Cas raised his hands to try a calming gesture toward Dean. "Well I was also complimented on my running, though I'm more long distance than a sprinter."
"Endurance is your thing, huh? That's cool too, I guess."
"You guess, huh?" Cas leaned forward onto the bed; looking up at Dean with that pretty smile Dean hoped he'd see every day.
Dean just shrugged in response and picked the phone out of Cas' hands, "Okay this is easy, dogs or cats?"
"I like both,"
"Pick one."
"Dogs, then. No wait, cats. No-"
"I get it, I don't really like either of them so-"
Cas slammed his hands down on the mattress, "What!? You don't like cats or dogs?"
"Nah, more of a bird person," Dean smirked as he watched the slow rise of red in Cas' skin colour.
"Okay, you win this round."
"Didn't know it was a competition."
"It's not," Cas snatched the phone back dramatically. "Okay, maybe we can go a little deeper with these questions. How about… what are you proud of?"
Dean paused and looked around the room, as if it would give him an answer. What was he proud of? There were plenty of things, but what was good enough to tell Cas first? "Does this include people or just things I did?"
"You pick, surprise me."
"Okay, then it's a no-brainer. I'm proud of you, how far you've come is incredible to me." Dean couldn't get enough of watching Cas' face light up like it did, the blush deepened and Cas was close to losing eye contact.
"You're so cheesy… but thank you." Cas was bashful for a moment and had to turn his head away. "It was all thanks to you that I managed to get this far at all, so I think that's a valid thing to be proud of." He looked up again, finding the nerve to hold Dean's gaze again. "But I think you're aiming it wrong, you should be proud of yourself for helping me. I'm proud of myself, I really have come a long way and I'm not devaluing that in the slightest."
"I think I get what you mean," Dean reached over and took Cas' hand again, "But this isn't exactly getting our minds off of anything."
"Well, no I guess not." Cas leaned in and shared a short kiss with his boyfriend. "But it does tell me more about you, and that's kinda one of the most important things to me right now."
"Okay, I'm done with the phone questions," Dean leaned forward and kissed Cas back. It was warm, welcoming to someone stuck in a hospital bed. He let the background noise fade as his focus zeroed in on Castiel, completely and mentally aware of what was going on. Dean would've been lying if he said that Cas' kisses had stayed the same. With memories intact and all experiences in close mental proximity, Castiel was a phenomenal kisser.
Hands slipped through hair and skin flushed, the air felt heated and Dean lost track of how long they were connected at the mouth. He only realized his limitations as his breathing started to become more ragged. At first it was hot, he felt his heart rate increase and knew he wanted more of Castiel. Both of them were breathing heavily, fingernails starting to press a little harder and fingers pulling at hair.
But Dean found himself more breathless than he should've been. He gasped and Cas caught on almost immediately, the mask was over his face in seconds and he had to lie back down.
"Sorry," Cas whispered and Dean shook his head.
"It doesn't happen that often, don't worry about it." He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting to chill his lungs out and catch his breath. It took a minute or two but soon he could take the mask away again. "I should apologize to you for that."
"I don't mind a tease," Cas reassured him with a look Dean hadn't ever seen on Castiel's face before. It was captivating and baiting, a little tease of his own.
"Hey," Dean wasn't sure what else to do with himself, but there was something he'd been meaning to ask for a while. Cas just tilted his head and Dean continued, "Could you, uh… sing for me?"
Cas' eyes lit up a little and his smile spread into something more joyful than seducing. "Yeah? Anything you'd like to hear?"
It was nice to see Cas so happy to sing, Dean was really looking forward to hearing something. "I guess keep it softer or quiet so we don't get in trouble."
"Right, of course." Cas adjusted his seat, sitting upright and taking a deep breath to relax.
Dean waited and when Cas started singing he realized why Charlie had been so upset beforehand. Cas' ability was incredible; way beyond what Dean would've assumed him to have and far more refined than what it was without memories. Dean sat with his attention completely in Cas' field, listening intently as his partner sang him a gentle love song. It was a serenade and Dean felt unbelievably special to have received it.
As Cas finished Dean finally realized his own reaction had been obvious as hell. He'd stared with nearly sparkling eyes, reddened cheeks and an expression that gave away his admiration depths. Cas was smiling sweetly and very kindly didn't comment on Dean's demeanour.
"Would you like to hear more?"
"As long as you want to keep singing," Dean answered timidly, empathizing strongly with Cas' previous bashfulness.
"For you? All night."