casthewise:
DeanCas coda to 12.04Â âAmerican Nightmareâ
âSo, youâll never guess what happened to me today.â
âWhat?â
They do this now; sit on separate beds, miles away from one another, and talk. Itâs uncomfortableâDeanâs face is always hot where itâs pressed against his phone, and Casâs voice is a ghost of itself over the tinny line, but they make do. This isnât the first time theyâve been apart and it wonât be the last. A little time apart is healthy, right?
Thatâs hard to remember when, ridiculously, all Dean wants is to have someone hold him.
âThe wiccan I thought was a witchâBeth, you remember me talking about her? She gave me her number.â
Silence.
âUh, Cas? You there?â
âIâm here.â Dean frowns at the far-away sounding response, listening intently to the rustle of fabric as Cas settles and re-settles on whatever starched motel bed heâs found himself for the night. The angel still doesnât need sleep, but apparently, having his own space is the only way heâs managing to stay sane on his weird little roadtrip thing with Crowley (which Dean is totally not bitter about, by the way). âUmâŚâ Cas clear his throat. âWhat will you do with it?â
A frown. âLike, whatâll I do with the number? Nothing. Why,â he asks, cautious. âDo you⌠think I should call her?â
They havenât had time to talk about it. Between Amara and Chuck and Mom and Lucifer, Deanâs barely had a second to wipe his ass, let alone have a Grown Up Conversation about where exactly he and Cas stand. They touch a lot, and they kiss a lot, and sometimes they fuck, but theyâve never actually said the words dating or relationship. Not that Deanâs necessarily complaining; that shitâs always ended in tears, but⌠he kind of thought he and Cas were on the same page for this.
ââŚIf you want to call her,â Castiel finally says. âYou should.â
Dean grits his teeth. âWow, Cas, way to make a guy feel special.â
The freaking angel has the gall to sigh on the other end. âWhat are you talking about.â
âWhatâm Iââ the hunter cuts himself off, shaking his head as his hands turn to fists. âI thought we were both knew what we were getting ourselves into, here, but I guess not. I guess I didnât get the goddamn memo.â
âExcuse me? Youâre the one who told me about a woman giving you her phone number!â
âYeah, Cas!â Dean exclaims. âI told you about my day. I shared something with you because I thought it was something we could laugh aboutâhaha isnât this so hilarious because Iâm 100% committed to you. But here you are fucking telling me to call her so I guess I really missed the mark on that one.â
âDeanââ
âNo. Youâre always wanting me to talk? Fine. This case was so fucked Sam and I had to down six fingers just to stop fucking shaking. I was so frigginâ stubborn a social worker thought I was flirting when I went to her office to kill her, and I was so fucked up over the mom thing, I almost fucking lost Sam. A kid fucking died because I wasnât there. Hell, the only light at the end of the tunnel was one kid got away safe, and Mom texted me back, but even though I get why she left sheâs still gone. Youâre still gone. And I know, okay; Iâm an asshole who doesnât treat you half as good as I should, but jesus I thought we both knew what we were doing, here.â
âDean,â Cas says weakly.
Dean stubbornly wipes a hand down his face, taking the moisture on his cheeks with it. âFuck, I just⌠I fuckinâ miss you, man. But if this ainât gonna work out, you tell me, here and now, because I donât think I canââ his breath hitches and he swallows the rest of his sentence, biting his lip in an attempt to keep it together. How the hell did this happen?
âDean, Iâm notâI donâtââ Casâs breath rattles through the speaker, and Deanâs chest turns cold. ââŚIâm sorry about your case,â the angel finally says. âIâm sorry about your mother. Iâm sorry I misunderstood, but I.â He pauses, collecting himself. When he speaks next, his voice is a low croak. âI donât want to overstep. I donât wantââ
To get kicked out again, Deanâs mind finishes. He feels his heart sink.
âListen to me,â he saysâfirm, brooking no argument. âYou canât overstep. Cas, I-I want you here, for every beginning, middle and end of every day. I wanna fuckinâ make you breakfast in the morning and go to sleep with you at night, and I want people to stop giving me their numbers âcause I canât help holding your hand while weâre on cases. I justâŚâ
âMe too,â the angel murmurs, suddenly all sweet and shy.
Dean bites his lip, ducking his head in a nod while his ears flare red. âUm,â he mumbles. His heart is gonna crack his ribs for how hard itâs pounding. He licks his lips. âSo, uh, find that SOB so you can come home, huh?â
Cas is smiling so bright, Dean can practically hear him over the phone. âI will,â he says.
âGreat. Cool. I, ah. I love you.â
âI love you, too, Dean.â
















