inonebasket | (no subject)

What, is he really? Dean can't tell. He's a little busy looking deeply concerned.

Dean didn't manage to keep eye contact for very long. "Dean. What's wrong?"

Dean wasn't aware they were having a staring contest, gosh.

"Nothing." He reaches down to unlace his boots. "It's not a big deal, Cas, don't worry about it."

Nope, not doing that.

Castiel gets up from his bed and lowers himself to a knee in front of Dean. He moves his hands away, slowly, and starts to unlace Dean's boots for him.

"What are you doing?" Aside from taking Dean's boots off for him, that is. "Cas, c'mon, cut it out."

Cas ignores him, wriggling his boots slightly to loosen their grip on Dean's feet. He lifts each leg, a hand on Dean's calf, and slips the boot off to set it aside as if it were a priceless relic.

"Cas, you're being weird again." Not that Dean's stopping him. He attempts humor. "What, are you gonna kiss my feet or something? Because you don't want to do that, trust me. I know where these have been and it's not pretty."

Castiel rises slowly, hands on the mattress at either side of Dean's thighs for balance. He catches his eyes, holds his gaze for a moment before straightening and turning away, leaning over to unlace his own boots.

Okay then. That wasn't creepy at all.

Dean is suddenly struck by the urge to return the favor.

"Cas, siddown."

Cas already has a boot off when Dean says that, but instead of arguing he obediently sinks onto his own bed.

So he can only half return the favor. That'll have to be good enough. Dean mimics Castiel's earlier gesture, dropping to his knees in front of Cas and carefully picking loose the laces on his boot before taking it off and setting it neatly beside the other. The difference is, when he's done he doesn't get up. He stays kneeling on the floor in front of Cas, eyes closed.

Cas tolerates that for an impressive thirty seconds before touching Dean's shoulder, feather-light. "Get up, Dean."

Nope. Dean drops his head, ignoring the touch.

"I'm sorry, Cas. I should have noticed something was up with you. I mean, looking back, it's pretty freaking obvious that you weren't--you weren't acting like you." He barely pauses for breath, determined to get all this out before Cas can stop him. "And yeah, maybe I couldn't have done anything, but you were always there when I needed you. I wasn't there when you needed me. And I'm sorry. I really am."

Castiel remains silent for nearly a full minute, just to absorb all of that, to process it and let its full meaning sink in. He shifts his weight imperceptibly before sliding down off of the bed; his knees touch Dean's, he sits back on his heels and leans forward until their foreheads are rested together.

"You take good care of me." Cas closes his eyes and breathes, and he thinks that if he could live forever in one moment, it would be this one. "Thank you."

"No. No, Cas, see, that's the thing. I don't." Dean doesn't pull away, but he's tense, shoulders tight. "Cas, I don't. I almost got you killed earlier, god knows how many times I've done that. I--I couldn't even save you from you and you were...you were gone. You were gone and then you came back and three hours ago you were almost gone again."

Shut the hell up, Dean. Cas is going to kiss you now.

Dean jerks away like he's been burned and breathing like he just ran a marathon.

Oh-

...wow he just kissed Dean. Cas sits back on his heels to think about this for a second.

Like he's writing a fucking dissertation:

"I believe my physical attraction for you has reached levels that can no longer be ignored."

"Physical--" Oh goody! Now he's confused and disturbed! "What the hell, Cas, you do not just up and lay one on me out of nowhere!"

why not

"Should I have given you prior warning?"

Edited 2011-11-23 11:18 (UTC)

"That--" Would be what his previous statement implied. "--is not the point."

"The pizza man gave the babysitter no prior warning, yet she seemed to enjoy herself immensely." Even as the pizza man slapped her rear. She seemed to enjoy that part the most, funnily enough.

Dean covers his face with both hands. "You're not allowed to watch porn anymore."

"If this bothers you, you don't have to worry. As I begin to recover my Grace, these urges will diminish in intensity until they are easily ignored."