Dean followed Castiel back up to his house and inside as he was led through the small kitchen and toward the back of the house, Castiel pointing out his bedroom on the way.
They reached another bedroom down the hall from Castiel's, it was sparsely decorated with just a bed tucked beneath the window and an old dresser against the far wall.
Dean stepped into the room and smiled brightly when Castiel caught his gaze, running a hand through his hair nervously.
"This is just great, sir," Dean spoke, tossing his rucksack onto the foot of the bed before following Castiel back into to the kitchen.
"Would you like something to eat? I imagine you're hungry after the long walk here..." Castiel offered stepping over to the wooden chest by the kitchen door Dean figured led out to the back of the house.
"Yes'sir... I would appreciate that, if it ain't too much trouble,"
Dean took a seat at the table, setting his hat in the middle of it as he looked up to see Castiel watching him. He felt a bit nervous about the man's strangely beautiful eyes on him.
Castiel turned his back to Dean as he dug around inside the chest, pulling out a tin of peaches and a pack of crackers. He crossed the small distance to the table and offered the provisions to Dean as he took up the empty chair across from him.
"Thank you, sir..." Dean nodded, taking the food and tearing into the pack of crackers.
"Do please call me Castiel, 'sir' is too formal for my liking..." Castiel spoke as he watched Dean practically devour the crackers along with the tin of peaches.
Dean gulped down his mouthful of peaches and gave Castiel a sheepish grin before nodding.
"Okay, Castiel it is then,"
Castiel smiled, a short lived chuckle bubbling out of him at the younger man's response. "That's much better,"
Gabriel came padding over from his spot by the door and laid his head across Dean's lap, heaving an audible sigh as he glanced up at the man.
Dean laughed as he scratched the dog behind his ears, unaware of Castiel watching the pair together.
"If you don't mind my asking, what made you want to come work for me?" Castiel questioned after a long moment of silence between them as Dean lazily petted Gabriel, seemingly lost in thought.
"I could use the work, I need the money..." Dean said half honestly, he didn't feel comfortable with going into detail, yet.
"I can understand that, money'll get you far these days," Castiel replied with a slight sigh, tilting his head as if to add something more but stopped himself.
"Well, if you show me how hard you're willing to work, I've no problem paying you your worth," he quickly continued with a smile.
"I can pull my weight and then some, don't worry 'bout that sir... Castiel..." Dean was quick to correct himself, a blush threatening to tint his cheeks.
He didn't quite understand why, but he truly didn't want to offend the man. He couldn't risk screwing things up with this wonderful opportunity for work and a nice place to stay.
It was late into the evening, the sun just starting to sink below the horizon as Castiel sat down at the top of the porch steps, Gabriel laid out at his feet.
He watched as Dean brought the horses into the stables for the night, having no problem at all with the task. Castiel was amazed at how effortlessly he made it seem.
Usually he had a much more difficult time convincing them to go inside when it began to get dark out, he'd found them to be stubborn creatures at times.
Once he'd gotten all the horses into their respective stables, Dean made the short trek up to the house, tossing Castiel a casual smile when he reached the steps.
"You gotta tell me how you did that, those horses can be down right stubborn when it's time to put 'em up..." Castiel remarked, glancing up at Dean as he leaned against the porch railing.
"It's not really a secret, just gotta be firm with them... They know who's boss," Dean responded with a knowing look. Castiel has to avert his gaze as he felt like Dean's could see into his soul.
Castiel quickly stood and turned to head inside, Gabriel jumping up to follow him. Dean brought up the rear, stepping inside as Gabriel crossed through the doorway.
"I'll fix us up some supper if you'd like to take a bath," Castiel said walking into the kitchen, Gabriel on his heel.
Without a word, Dean nodded and made his way down the narrow hallway into the bathroom.
Dean closed the door shut behind him, stepping over to the tub sat in the middle of the room. He was surprised to see it was already filled with hot water, he figured Castiel must've started it for him and reminded himself to thank him later.
He undid his shirt, sliding it off his shoulders and folding it up, setting it on a nearby stool before he started to remove his jeans as he kicked off his boots.
A sudden thought crossed his mind, he'd forgotten to grab a change of clothes. So, leaving his jeans on, he left the bathroom to make his way to his bedroom when he unexpectedly bumped into Castiel in the hall.
"Shit... I'm sorry," Dean apologized, reaching out and grabbing Castiel by his arms to steady him. Castiel stilled in the man's grasp, very much aware that he was partially undressed.
"No, no... It's my own fault, I was coming to get you a towel..." Castiel pryed himself out of Dean's hands and stepped back, his back hitting the wall behind him.
"I, uh... Forgot a change of clothes..." Dean explained, hand going straight to rubbing the back of his neck. He gave Castiel a sheepish smile, embarrassed of himself.
"Here," Castiel thrusted a fluffy towel into Dean's hands and quickly made his way back towards the kitchen, leaving Dean in the hallway with a confused look on his face.
Dean shrugged, continuing his way to his bedroom to retrieve fresh clothes. He chuckled to himself, amused by Castiel's reaction in the hallway.
Part of him had wanted to keep the man in his embrace, perhaps kiss him, while another part of him knew he couldn't do something that would fuck up his chances at decent work.