Chapter Three

As Dean had told him, Cas was less exhausted by the weekend, the more he worked. He also did not escape the sniffles and coughs as the weather grew colder, and took to carrying packets of tissues in his pockets, as much for himself as the kids.

Cas relished story time at the end of the day, as did the children, and Cas secretly loved the fond expression on Dean's face as he watched.

It rained a lot more the further through October they went, so Dean requested parents send in waterproof clothes and boots for the days they went outside, splashing around in mud and puddles.

Sometimes Cas went home shivering, but he loved every moment of it.

Halloween was just around the corner, and Cas approached Dean after class with an idea.

'I thought maybe the children could help me decorate my Halloween costume,' he suggested nervously. 'I was going to wear an angel costume, and I thought they could make feathers for the wings.'

Dean grinned. 'That's a great idea,' he said enthusiastically. 'Proactive, I like it.'

'You can make some too, if you like,' Cas offered.

'You want me to feather your wings?' Dean said suggestively and Cas blushed.

'I- I-'

'Relax, I'm kidding,' Dean laughed.

Cas also learned that Dean was something of a flirt, but it was always playful, so Cas could never be sure if he meant it. Cas's own attempts to flirt in return were woefully feeble, and often came out wrong. Dean would laugh either way, which Cas greatly appreciated.

The only problem came when Cas started to get butterflies before school, and his stomach lurched the moment he saw Dean every day. He found himself finding any excuse to touch Dean, whether it was accidentally bumping into him in the classroom, or brushing his fingers when Cas passed him a cup of coffee. He was certain he was making an idiot of himself, but if Dean noticed how flustered he made Cas, he never mentioned it.

The morning of Halloween, Cas got dressed as usual, then threw the white robes he had made over the top. Once he had arrived at school, he donned the halo he'd made from tinsel and tiny LED lights. He also unpacked the cardboard cut into the shape of wings, ready to have feathers stapled and glued to them.

When he got inside, he was surprised to hear from Jo that Dean was already in their classroom, so he grabbed them both a cup of coffee.

He found Dean at his desk, surrounded by piles of paper in different colours, cut into feather shapes.

'Oh my God, is that coffee?' Dean said, looking up when he saw Cas come in.

He was dressed up as a cowboy, with his hat perched on the monitor of his computer.

'How long have you been here?' Cas asked, surveying the piles and handing Dean his mug.

'Just a couple hours,' Dean shrugged, then sighed happily as he took a long drink of his coffee. 'I don't know how you do it, but your coffee is the best.'

'I must be magic,' Cas said, grabbing one of the chairs and sitting next to Dean. 'Are you all right?'

Dean smiled at him, but he looked tired. 'Just couldn't sleep, nothing to worry about. Thanks for asking, though.'

Cas picked up a pair of scissors and helped him cut out the feather shapes.

'Nice costume, by the way,' said Dean. 'Where'd you get it?'

'Oh, I made it myself,' Cas told him.

'Really? That's awesome. I'll have to get you to make something for me sometime.'

Cas smiled and felt as though he was glowing.

Dean drained the rest of his coffee, and Cas offered to get some more, but he declined. 'Kids'll be here soon and I don't want to get the jitters,' he said. 'I hope you're ready, Halloween makes them a little crazy.'

Cas laughed. 'Daycare at Halloween was like a war zone. I'm ready.'

Dean grinned again. Now that he'd had some coffee, and was getting excited to see the kids, he looked much better than he had when Cas arrived. When he heard the halls filling with footsteps, he put on his cowboy hat and opened the classroom door.

Cas heard squeals of delight, then the children barrelled into the room. All of them were wearing costumes, all brightly coloured, and some with face paints. They were already painfully excited, and none of them could sit still while Dean took attendance.

They pushed all the tables together and put out all the craft and art supplies they had, so they could all decorate Cas's feathers. Soon enough, they were all covered in paint, glitter, and various bits of brightly coloured pompoms and pipe cleaners. Cas knew they would have to stay longer after class to clean up, but it was worth it to see the joy on everyone's faces.

The morning was spent decorating feathers, until they had enough to cover the cardboard wings. Cas and Dean helped the kids stick them all on, then Dean lifted them up and attached them to the harness Cas had made to wear them.

'Good job, everyone,' Cas beamed.

'Let's get a picture, everybody in,' Dean said, pulling out his phone.

'You're not going to be in it?' Cas said.

Dean hesitated. 'Wait here,' he said, then exited the classroom. He came back with Ash, grinning. 'Scoot,' he said to Cas, who made space for him.

The kids crowded around them, jostling to get in frame at Ash's direction.

Then, Dean put an arm around Cas's waist, pulling him as close as he could. Cas felt his cheeks redden and his breath caught in his chest.

'Everybody say "cheese",' Ash said.

The kids all yelled it, and Dean said it with a laugh, but Cas could barely get it out past his racing heart.

Ash finished taking pictures, and Cas remembered how to breathe when Dean let go of him.

'Oh yeah, that's going on the wall,' Dean said, taking his phone back from Ash. 'Thanks, dude.'

Ash went back to his own classroom, and Dean announced that it was lunchtime. He didn't want anyone to ruin their costumes before they went trick or treating, so he decided they would have lunch inside that day.

'Wait here, I'll go get your lunch,' Dean said, patting Cas's shoulder and sending his heart fluttering once again.

When Dean returned, however, he was not holding the sandwich Cas had made himself. Instead, he was carrying a couple of steaming bowls of chilli.

'What's this?'

Dean shrugged. 'The stuff you bring for lunch makes me sad.'

'You made me lunch?' Cas said, astounded.

'Well, you've been doing a great job, you should eat something good for a change.'

'Thank you,' Cas said. He took a bite and smiled. It was tasty, but mild. 'It's good.'

Dean nodded. 'Yep, I'm great.'

'It's not very spicy, though.'

'Oh, I can make it spicy.' Dean said with a wink, once again making Cas blush.

Cas felt hot all over, so he shoved a huge spoonful of chilli into his mouth to cover it and almost choked.

After lunch, they had the kids make spooky decorations for the classroom. They were too excited to pay attention to a real lesson, so Dean did his best to channel their energy into something at least productive.

They stuck bats and pumpkins made of paper to the windows, and hung ghosts from the ceiling, until it was finally the end of the day.

Dean waved goodbye to everyone, then closed the door and let out a huge sigh of relief. It had been so noisy all day, that once the kids were gone, the silence was ringing.

Cas shrugged off his cardboard wings, and the switched the lights off on his halo. Dean came over to him and took the wings from his hands. 'I know you worked hard on these, but can we keep them for the classroom?'

'Oh, of course!' Cas said, smiling proudly.

Dean immediately set about hanging them on the wall, and left a space for the picture he had taken, ready for when he had it printed and framed.

Now that the room was quiet, Dean looked completely exhausted as he put the tables back in their usual places, so when they were almost finished tidying up, Cas asked, 'Would you like me to drive you home?'

Dean gave him a surprised look. 'Oh,' he said, then smiled. 'No, it's okay. My place is pretty close, I won't be driving long. I appreciate it though.'

Cas nodded, but was slightly disappointed.

'You got any Halloween plans?' Dean asked, changing the subject.

'Nothing much. Lots of candy to hand out, and I set up a speaker with spooky music at the door. How about you?'

'Scary movie marathon with my brother,' said Dean. 'Halloween's kind of our thing.'

Cas smiled, but felt a pang in his heart and thought of Gabriel. They used to have their own traditions too. Gabriel's picture would keep him company that night, as he entertained all the kids that came to his door.

Dean still looked tired the next day, and the rest of the week, but it didn't change the way he ran his classroom. That was until Cas arrived in Friday morning to find Dean sitting at his desk, pale, and holding his head in his hands.

'What's wrong?' Cas asked, alarmed.

Dean shook his head, but didn't look up. 'Just a migraine,' he said, his voice weak. 'Waiting for the meds to kick in.'

'Do you need anything?'

'No.'

Cas thought for a moment. 'Why don't - why don't I run class today?' He suggested. 'I know what's on the schedule today, and you'll still be here if you're needed, but you can rest.

Dean finally looked up at him, shading his eyes. 'You'd do that?'

'Of course,' Cas said.

'That's really great of you, thanks Cas.' Dean smiled, then rummaged through his desk and put on the pair of sunglasses he grabbed from inside.

He greeted the kids as they arrived, as normal, and had them take their seats.

'All right, everybody,' he said. 'You know how Cas is learning to be a teacher? Well, he's gotta get some practice, so he's in charge today. I want everyone on their best behaviour.' Dean sat down and gestured for Cas to come to the front of the class. He was nervous, but Dean's encouraging smile helped him get going. By mid morning, he felt more confident and had a good rhythm going, which was just as well, as he was sure the Dean had fallen asleep. It was hard to tell past the sunglasses, but he had fallen still, where he was normally fidgety when sitting.

When lunchtime came, he was certain that Dean was asleep, and though Cas was loathe to wake him, he couldn't watch the children alone for the whole lunch hour. He decided they would stay inside, then made sure that the kids were distracted by their toys before gently shaking Dean awake.

'It's lunchtime,' he said softly.

Dean sucked in a breath. 'Sorry,' he muttered. 'I'll go get the food.'

'No, you stay here and watch them,' he insisted. 'Don't move, I'll get the food.'

Dean just nodded.

Cas rushed to the staff room and grabbed his and Dean's lunch, and a large glass of water.

The kids were quiet when he came back, and he put the glass of water down on Dean's desk.

'How are you feeling?' he asked.

Dean shrugged and took a sip of water. 'I'll be fine,' he said.

Cas nodded and quickly ate his sandwich, while Dean picked at the cold burrito he'd brought in.

Dean didn't fall asleep again, but he still didn't get up from his desk.

He said goodbye to them all at the end of the day, but let Cas escort them through the door. Cas insisted on tidying the classroom for him, and let him sit a little longer.

'All right, that's everything,' Cas said.

Dean sighed and got to his feet. He turned a delicate shade of green and stood still, breathing slowly and deliberately until he could move again.

Cas went with him to the parking lot. 'I'm not sure you should be driving like this,' he said, but Dean waved a hand.

'My brother's coming to pick me up.'

'I'll wait with you.'

Cas's car was parked beside Dean's, so he went into the trunk and pulled out a couple of the instant ice packs.

'Here, this should help.' He sat Dean down on the hood of his Impala and activated the ice packs, holding one on the back of Dean's neck where it met his head, and the other to his forehead.

Dean let out a sigh. 'Feels nice,' he murmured.

'Good.'

Another car pulled into the parking lot just as the ice packs were beginning to warm. It stopped in front of them, and a very tall man with long hair got out.

'Hey, you okay?' he asked Dean, coming over to them.

'Been better.' Dean mumbled.

'Who's this?' he said, looking Cas up and down.

'I'm Cas,' he said.

'Oh, new guy Cas? I'm Sam.' He quickly shook Cas's hand, then helped Dean up from the hood of his car. 'Come on, get in.'

'Get some rest, Dean,' Cas said anxiously. 'I'll see you on Monday.'

'Thanks for your help today,' Dean said. 'See ya.'

Cas watched them drive away before going home. He worried about Dean all weekend. Dean had given him his number, but he wrestled with whether or not it would be appropriate to text him. In the end, Cas decided against it. He was glad, however, when he got to school on Monday morning, and Dean was his usual self. There was no trace of the tiredness he'd worn the previous week, nor the migraine that had crippled him. He did pull Dean aside after class.

'Hey, I didn't get a chance to talk to you about Friday,' he said. 'I just wanted to say that you did a really good job. You held their attention for most of the day, and you had good control of the classroom.'

Cas blushed. 'Thank you,' he mumbled.

'Seriously, I think you're gonna be a really good teacher.'

Cas's heart thrilled.

'Maybe you could take over again sometime, when I can do a real evaluation.'

'I'd like that,' Cas smiled.

'We'll get through all the holidays first, then see where we're at. I don't think you're prepared to try and wrangle them at Christmas,' Dean laughed.

'You're probably right.'

November was cold and bleak, but the children were noticeably more excitable as the month drew onwards. Cas observed the expert way Dean held their attention while teaching them about Thanksgiving. Dean also took to bringing lunch for himself and for Cas on Mondays. To give him a good start to the week, he'd said.

They had Thanksgiving day off, so Cas drove to his parents' to help them cook dinner. He wasn't the best chef in the world, but they had a a quiet dinner together with Gabriel's picture in the chair he would have sat in.

His parents lightly teased him about Dean, but otherwise they didn't make much conversation. Gabriel's shadow still hung over them, as he had always been the one to bring fun and laughter to the holidays.

As much as he loved his parents, it was a relief to get back to school, and back to Dean.

With Thanksgiving out of the way, Christmas came ever closer. Whenever the children got too boisterous, Dean would call the whole class to a halt. He made them all stand up, jump up and down, spin around, and touch their toes, to try and use some of their excess energy. It was successful for the most part, but the last week before school let out for Christmas break was just short of chaos.

When his tactics stopped working, Dean instead played the quiet game with them, and had them put their heads down on their desks. The winner would get a chocolate coin, and this seemed to help keep a lid on all the excitement.

One dreary morning, Cas was making his way to the staff room before class, and heard Dean and Jody talking quietly inside.

'Well, he's cute, why not just ask him out?'

'I don't know, Jody, isn't it inappropriate?'

'What's inappropriate?' Cas asked as he went to the coffee machine.

'Oh, uh…' Dean glanced at Jody. 'Jody has a thing for her - her mailman.'

Cas sipped his coffee.

'What do you think, Cas?' Jody asked, a slight smile on her face. 'If you thought your mailman was really cute, but it might be a little inappropriate, what would you do?'

'I'm not sure I'm qualified to give dating advice,' Cas said, 'and I'm not sure why dating your mailman would be inappropriate.'

'Well, if you think about it, a mailman is kind of a subordinate,' Dean babbled.

Cas thought about it. 'If you think he'd be open to it, I don't see why you shouldn't ask him out.'

Jody's smile widened. 'How will I know if he's open to it?'

'Good question. I've never been able to tell,' Cas admitted. 'If I had to guess, I'd say if he spends more time with you than he should, hangs on every word you say, finds reasons to get close to you… that kind of thing.'

Jody grinned. 'I see. Maybe I'll give it a shot.' She took her coffee and left the room.

Cas moved to lean against the counter, holding his mug in both hands to warm them. 'Isn't Jody married?' he asked, confused.

'Yeah, they have an open thing…' Dean drained his cup. 'Come on, let's go. We're doing circuits today and practicing on Christmas lights.'

Finally, they came to the last day of the semester. There would be a Christmas party for all the teachers at the end of the day, and Cas was looking forward to it. They had all brought food and stored it in the staff room, which had been decorated and had a tree set up in one corner.

Dean had worn an ugly red sweater with a huge reindeer head made of felt tacked to the front. When he pressed the nose it lit up red, and spent all day letting the kids press it.

What most surprised Cas was the parents. When they came to collect their children, a lot of them came inside to give Dean and Cas small gifts for Christmas. Cas hadn't expected anything for himself, but he was touched that he had made such an impression on the kids that they'd mentioned him to their parents.

The staff room was warm, as the food had been heated, and Dean started making mugs of hot chocolate and warm eggnog.

There was music and chatting, but after a while, Cas began to feel overwhelmed, so he snuck out of the staff room and wandered back to their classroom.

He sat on a table in the dark, looking through the window at their pond, holding a hot chocolate. The only light came from the hallway, through the small glass window in the classroom door. He sighed, and thought of Gabriel. He wasn't alone for long, though, and he turned at the sound of the door opening.

'Hello, Dean,' he said quietly.

'Thought I might find you down here,' he said, sitting next to Cas on the table, their thighs touching. He was holding two cups of steaming eggnog. 'Everything okay?'

Cas shrugged. 'I suppose… it's only our second Christmas without Gabriel,' he explained. 'I was just thinking about him.'

Dean nodded. 'I get it. My parents have been gone a long time, but the holidays can still be hard.'

'You should go back to the party,' Cas said. 'I'm sure it's a lot more fun than sitting in the dark with me.'

'Nah. I'd rather be here.'

Despite his sadness for Gabriel, Cas still felt his heart flutter.

'Here, I made you this,' Dean said, trying to hand him one of the cups.

Cas hesitated. 'I'm driving,' he said.

'I'll get you a cab,' said Dean. 'Come on, Cas, it's Christmas.'

Cas looked at Dean's face. His lopsided grin and pink flush on his cheeks told Cas that he'd already had a fair amount himself. Cas smiled, unable to resist his eager expression.

'All right,' he said, putting down his hot chocolate, and taking the mug from Dean. He took a sip and choked, whiskey immediately hitting the back of his throat. 'God, how much did you put in that?' he spluttered, eyes watering as Dean cackled.

'I put in some extra, especially for you,' Dean said, drinking some more of his. He nudged Cas's arm. 'Have some more,' he laughed.

Cas rolled his eyes, but took a mouthful more. This time, he expected the strength and managed not to cough. 'Did you put any extra in yours?' he said hoarsely.

Dean shook his head. 'Here, try it. You might actually get some flavour.' He took the cup from Cas's hand and swapped it for his.

'Much better,' Cas said, tasting the subtle spices in the drink.

'Here, you got some on your face,' Dean laughed. He reached over and ran his thumb over Cas's top lip. 'Got it,' he murmured, but he didn't take his thumb away, instead gently moved it down to rest on Cas's bottom lip.

Cas held his breath, his heart beating so fast he thought it might burst. He met Dean's eyes, but only for a moment, before Dean leaned over and kissed him. Cas gasped, tasting the whiskey on his tongue. Before he knew it, Dean's hands were in his hair and at the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Cas responded in kind, pressing himself against Dean as much as he could. Cas sunk into him, his eyes fluttering closed, tasting him, breathing him in.

All of a sudden, Dean pulled away, stumbling to his feet. 'I - I'm sorry,' he said breathlessly, backing away from Cas.

Cas stood too. 'It's all right,' he said reassuringly, but Dean just shook his head.

'I - I - I can't,' Dean stuttered. 'I'm sorry, I can't.' He backed out of the room, tripping over a table as he went, leaving Cas in stunned silence.

Cas stared at the door Dean had left through. Confused and upset, Cas got his own cab home instead of waiting for Dean to call him one.

'This is why I don't date,' Cas grumbled to Gabriel's picture when he got inside, then went to bed, the taste of whiskey still on his lips.

Welcome back! Thanks to Kathy and EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester for the reviews! See you next time :)