Dean ended up taking him to a cheap diner, but Castiel didn't care. Both he and Dean were low on money and probably couldn't afford any fancy places to eat.
Dean had ordered a simple bacon cheeseburger and Castiel, since he had eaten recently, just ordered water. Dean's food came out fairly quickly and actually looked good considering the place they were at. It was still dripping in fat and grease, but it smelled amazing.
"Do you want any fries or anything?" Dean asked with his mouth full.
Castiel shook his head. "I'm good." He was wracking his brain trying to think of something to say, but nothing was coming to him.
Luckily, Dean had a few questions.
"So, besides the guy at the coffee shop, do you have any siblings?" Dean practically inhaled his cheeseburger and was now picking at the fries, but Castiel didn't comment. He figured he might've gone a little while without eating since his business was going under.
Castiel nodded. "One other. His name's Michael and he's in the army. And Gabriel, the one at the coffee shop, was the one who helped me finish high school. Michael took off the first chance he could."
"I'm twenty-two," Castiel said. "You?"
"Twenty-five." Dean took a sip of his water. "How old were you when your mom passed away?"
"I was eighteen. Just finishing high school" Castiel narrowed his eyes playfully at Dean. "I thought you wanted us to talk about 'less depressing' topics."
Dean smirked and picked at the few fries he had left on his plate. "Did you ever go to college?"
Castiel shook his head. "That's why it's so hard for me to find work. Nobody wants someone who's had no college experience." Castiel shifted in his seat. "After mom died and Michael went back to the Middle East, it just left Gabriel and me. Gabriel only went through a semester of college before he came back to help me through high school. He's been working at that coffee house ever since I graduated."
"And you're the one hounding me about being depressing." Dean gave him a toothy smile to show Castiel he was joking.
"Hey, you're the one who asked the question," Castiel retorted, but without any bite.
The waitress came back and took away Dean's plate and gave him the check. He pulled out his wallet and handed the cash to the waitress, who scowled at the lousy tip. Dean obviously felt bad for it, so Castiel pulled out his wallet and left a five dollar bill on the table before they left.
"You don't have to do that, you know," Dean said as they walked out.
Castiel shrugged. "I know, but you paid for my water and invited me to sit with you. It's the least I could do."
They walked back to the coffee house side-by-side. Dean was walking so close to Castiel that their knuckles occasionally brushed against each other. Castiel resisted the strong urge to grab it.
Again, their destination came into view too quickly for Castiel's liking. He couldn't explain why he wanted to spend more time with Dean, he just did.
And, when they arrived at the coffee shop, Dean again seemed hesitant to leave. They stood there in silence, just staring each other in the eyes before Dean clapped his hands together and said, "Well, I better get to work."
"Probably," Castiel said, not breaking eye contact. "I'm sure you have quite a few cars to work on since you're alone today."
Dean nodded was silent for another moment with just the two of them looking into each other's eyes. Castiel attempted to count Dean's scattered freckles, but ended up losing count and having to start again.
Dean glanced at Castiel's lips for a moment before stepping forward and placing a chaste kiss on them. Castiel stood there motionless and probably looking like an idiot as Dean pulled away.
Dean looked nervous as he glanced at Castiel's eyes then at his shoes. "I'll, uh, see you around?" Dean scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning pink.
A small grin spread across Castiel's face as he stepped a little closer to Dean and cupped his cheek. He guided Dean's lips back towards his and kissed his passionately. "Yes." Castiel pulled away, but was still so close, he could feel Dean's breath on his lips. "You will see me around."
"You kissed him!" Gabriel exclaimed as he flipped through the channels on their TV that night. Grace, their old and feeble cat, was napping on the armrest beside Gabriel.
"Actually, he kissed me first," Castiel corrected as he leaned against the doorway to the kitchen and finished drying a plate. They always seemed to have dirty dishes lying around and, being a clean freak, it annoyed the hell out of Castiel. "I just let him know I was okay with it."
"Okay with it?" Gabriel faced Castiel. "Cassie, that was your first actual kiss with a guy! I'm sure you were ecstatic!"
"Maybe I was." Castiel shrugged and grabbed Grace off the armrest and sat down. Grace started purring and leaned into his touch as he pet behind her ear. "Okay, fine, I was pretty fucking excited."
"Can I give you some advice?" Gabriel said solemnly, a serious tone he rarely used. When Castiel looked at him, he continued, "Don't let this guy be like dad. Don't let this guy just use you for sex and when something serious comes along, pack bags and ditch."
Castiel nodded. "It won't be."
Gabriel, seeming satisfied with the answer, turned his attention back to the TV. After a few moments of flipping through the few channels they had, he eventually gave up. "Ugh! There's never anything good on!" He complained and threw Castiel the remote. "You choose something. I'm getting tired anyway."
Gabriel stood up from his chair and sauntered back to his room.
Castiel sat and thought for a moment before standing up, which startled Grace, and making a cup of coffee to go. He knew exactly where Winchester Motors was at and knew it was within walking distance, so he decided to visit Dean. He didn't really think much about coming off too strong or being too clingy, but he really didn't care. If Dean didn't like him for who he was, then he could go screw himself.
With two cups of coffee in hand, he walked down the sidewalk. It was nearing nine o' clock, so it wasn't too terribly dark outside.
On his way to the garage, Castiel thought about what could happen between him and Dean. If this was going to turn into something serious, they'd need to talk about it. Castiel had never been in an actual relationship without Gabriel setting him and someone else, who he usually didn't really take a liking to, up. This could actually turn into something. It was scary to think that he'd either get his heart broken or they'd end up together. Or maybe he'd end up breaking Dean's heart.
Thoughts wracking his brain, Castiel nearly missed Winchester Motors. He knocked on the door and waited a couple seconds.
Dean opened the door covered in motor oil and grease. He was wiping his hands down with an extremely dirty rag. "Cas?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. "What're you doing here?"
"I figured you'd still be here working, since you said you'd be working late, so I brought you some coffee." Castiel held one mug out for Dean to take.
"Thanks," Dean said. "Is there anything else?"
Castiel pursed his lips and thought. He didn't really want to have the 'did that kiss earlier today mean anything?' talk with Dean just yet, so he shook his head. "No, not really."
Dean chuckled and went back inside, but left the door open, so Castiel walked inside.
"I feel pretty accomplished," Dean started off as he popped the hood of a car. "I got two cars done since we last saw each other and I got one guy to pay his bill."
"That's good," Castiel commented. He took a sip of coffee. "Was that bill overdue?"
"Big time," Dean replied immediately. "Two months ago I worked on his damn car and he pays the three hundred dollar bill now." Dean sighed as he reached for a wrench and tightened something on the car. "You know, the excuse people give to not pay smaller bills like that is just because it's a small bill, that it doesn't even matter. But, when you get a shit ton of those piling up on each other, you have a problem."
"I bet that's annoying." Castiel leaned against the car Dean was working on.
"You have no idea," Dean scowled. "And then, on top of the shitty customers who don't pay, you have my workers who demand more money to keep themselves afloat. Never mind me going under holding you two lazy assholes above water." He glanced at Castiel who gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine." Castiel waved it off. "You need someone to vent to otherwise you're going to drive yourself mad." He looked down at his coffee mug and swirled the liquid around in the cup.
"I'm sensing some anger to vent. What's up?" Dean turned to Castiel completely, leaving his work unfinished for now.
Castiel sighed and let his head fall backwards onto the car's roof. "It's nothing."
"Oh, come on." Dean stepped closer to Castiel, arms brushing against each other. "What's eating you?"
"People. People are 'eating me,'" Castiel said.
"Cannibals," Dean mumbled jokingly. He took a swig of his coffee.
Castiel chuckled lightly. "I just don't understand why people are always judgmental of each other. Why can't we all just be kind to one another? Is it really that hard to try and brighten someone's day instead of stepping on it?" He exhaled loudly.
"Did something happen today?" Dean asked quietly.
Castiel shook his head. "No, I've been holding on to this for a while," He mumbled.
Dean nodded and gently took Castiel's hand in his. "Well, just so you know, I'll be there if you ever need me."
Castiel turned to face him. "Thanks."
Dean cupped Castiel's cheek with his free (and admittedly dirty) hand and kissed him. And with that, Castiel knew he and Dean felt the same way about each other.
