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Dean stretched out across his bed, feeling more content than he had in years. The mattress was doing wonders for his back, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten to sleep in for days in a row. He heard a plaintive meow coming from from the ground by the bed, and then felt the warmth of a small, furry body pressing up against his side, purring contentedly. He closed his eyes, smiling faintly and murmuring a prayer. He had no idea when it had starting coming to him so naturally when he used to struggle with even the idea- probably some time around Purgatory, when it had been one of the only things still giving him hope- but it had, in the past few weeks, become his morning routine.
“Hey, Cas, I d’know if you can hear me. I guess you must be pretty busy. Doing angel stuff or whatever. I get it, really. You do what you gotta do. But...well, we’re just kinda worried.”
Dean cleared his throat. “Really worried, actually. So if you get the chance, stop by. You don’t have to stay for long, just let us know you’re still alive. You could, stay, though. If you wanted to. We could show you around. Man, you should see this place, it’s great...”
Dean trailed off, rubbing the head of the cat pressed against, not really expecting any sort of answer. He lay still for a few minutes, and was considering rolling over and dozing off for a little while longer when he heard the unmistakable flutter of wings. He sat up abruptly, startling the cat.
“Cas.”
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean examined the angel with a cocked eyebrow. He looked ruffled, and exhausted, but sound enough.
“Damn, what happened?”
Cas blinked, frowning. Dean thought for a second that he looked almost confused, as if he didn’t know himself. “I...nothing. I’ve just been- busy.”
Dean shook his head. “Well, it’s good to see you.”
“When did you acquire a cat?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah”, Dean grinned. “What do you think of him?”
He jumped off the bed, pulling the cat with him. Cas said nothing as he looked at the fuzzy, black feline, who was giving him a nearly identical wide-eyed stare. Dean rolled his eyes and held the cat out.
“Here, hold him or something.”
Cas took him hesitantly, but began to smile when he purred and nuzzled the angel’s arm.
“Yes, I like him. What’s his name?”
Dean’s grin grew. “Doesn’t have one yet. Only seemed fair to have you name him, since we got him for you.”
“For me?”
“Well, yeah.” Dean shrugged. “You’re the one who likes cats so much. Sam’s more of a dog guy, really.”
“And you?”
“Never thought about it, to be honest. It wasn’t practical, you know, living on the road and all. But I have to admit, this little guy is starting to grow on me.”
Cas nodded solemnly, stroking the cat’s back. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Hey, let me show you around.” Dean tugged Cas out of the room, hauling both him and the cat through several rooms, making sure to hit all the best ones. They tiptoed past Sam’s room, mindful of waking him, and Dean spent a full five minutes showing off every detail of the shiny, new kitchen. Eventually, they ended up back at Dean’s room, Dean leaning proudly against the door frame.
“Best room in the house.” He announced. Cas smiled again before gently setting down the cat, who had been squirming for the past several minutes. As soon as he had all four paws back on the ground, he dashed across the room and flung himself up onto the bed, curling up in the center of the mattress.
“Memory foam,” Dean stated, before realizing it would likely mean absolutely nothing to the angel. Still, Cas nodded politely.
Dean hurried across the room. “Hey, check this out,” he called over his shoulder. Reaching the table he’d been headed for, he picked up one of the vinyl records almost reverently and carefully placed it on the record player.
“Great, right?”
“Indeed.” Cas replied, watching the spinning record almost hypnotically. He sighed. ‘Dean, I should really be-”
Dean knew exactly what he was about to say, and, for some reason- maybe because it had been so long since they’d last seen each other, or because it hadn’t even been an hour. It could even have been just because that Dean had recently been feeling genuinely happy, for once. Whatever it wa,s he just really didn’t want Cas to leave. Not yet.
Going off pure instinct, he interrupted Cas by grabbing his hand and dragging him into the middle of the room. Pointedly not thinking about what he was doing, he held both of Cas’ hands in his and raised his eyebrows.
“Ever danced before?”
“What?”
The confused expression, complete with tilted head, was so classically Cas that Dean’s nerves subsided briefly.
“Yeah, didn’t think so. Wanna learn to?”
“Why?” Cas’ tone suggested that he was wondering if Dean had finally lost his mind.
“Well, it is what people tend to do when there’s music playing. Come on, it’s not hard.” Dean replied with forced casualness. As if people were always doing this to their friends. Right. Dean doubted even cas would believe that one.
Cas was obviously reluctant. “Dean, I don’t-”
“Really, it’s easy as pie. Speaking of which, we should have some later. Got one in the fridge.” Dan was very aware that he should just shut up. Drop Cas’ hands and let him disappear. Whatever angel business he had going on was certainly more important that impromptu dancing lessons. But if he did that, how long would it before Cas came back? Could he even really call someplace his home if he didn’t have both of the most important people in his life there?
Dean took a deep breathe. “It won’t take long. Just...go with it, okay?”
Cas finally nodded, and Dean grinned triumphantly. He placed one of Cas’ hands on his hip and his own on Castiel’s shoulder, leaving their right hands clasped.
“Okay, so, basically, when I step back, you step forward, and vice versa. Just follow my lead.”
He started taking slow, careful steps around the center of the room. The pace was a far cry from matching the the classic rock music they were supposedly dancing to, but dean was too busy watching Cas to take any notice. He had a natural sort of grace- Dean snorted at the irony of the word and yet couldn’t find a more apt term- but he was stiff and uncomfortable as he followed Dean in circles.
They did the same thing until Cas became more comfortable with the movements. After a few minutes, he was practically gliding around the room. It was almost like actually dancing with someone, but somehow better. Dean chalked it up to his own lack of experience.
“Fast learner,” he commented, picking up the pace.
Cas looked dangerously close to rolling his eyes. “I’ve been watching the Earth since it’s creation, Dean. I’ve seen plenty of dancing. There’s just a bit of difference between watching something and actually experiencing it.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Dean wasn't entirely sure what do next. He was no dancing expert, not by a long shot. But that was the only thing keeping Cas with him. Improvising, he let his hand drop off Cas’ shoulder and attempted to pull him into a spin. To his surprise, Cas responded smoothly, and they actually pulled it off. What he hadn’t anticipated was how much closer they were after the move was complete. Their faces couldn't have been more than a few inches apart. Impulsively, Dean let his arms fall around Cas’ waist so that they were swaying in a distinctly romantic way.
“Uh-” Dean realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. But, well, since when did any of them, really?
He leaned in, feeling the weight of Cas’ hands on his shoulders, and closed the short distance between them. Once again, he was surprised by Castiel’s reaction. The second their lips met, he tightened his grip on Dean’s shoulders and pressed against him. Dean was startled enough that he froze briefly, but soon enough they were holding onto each other and kissing fiercely, with Led Zeppelin for mood music.
Dean pulled back eventually, gasping for breathe and grinning like a maniac. “Still have to get going?”
Cas shot him a very unamused look and refused to even grace the question with a response, instead grabbing hold of the front of Dean’s jacket and pulling them back together.