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Dean moved the last of the brown boxes into the barren bedroom. He ran his hand through his light brown hair in relief before turning to look around the space. Dean had just finished unloading the rest of his boxes into his new apartment. He had decided a long while ago that after high school he would move out with his younger brother Sam and get an apartment together. Things didn't exactly go to plan the way they expected, as Sam was still only fourteen when Dean graduated high school, and Dean decided he didn't want to turn his whole world around so they stayed with their dead-beat father.
Sam and Dean's father was the reason why they planned to move out all these years. Their father John Winchester had become an alcoholic after their mother died in a house fire when Sam was only six months old. Dean was forced to grow up fast in order to take care of his younger brother. John was sober until Dean turned twelve, and that's when things started spiraling downhill. At first the boys would come home to their father passed out or nearly there, but after awhile it progressed to outbursts of anger and smashing things, and when Dean turned sixteen it had progressed to full-out violence.
When Dean would come home from school or work at their uncle's car shop he'd have to gauge the situation when he walked in the door. If their dad wasn't home then he probably wouldn't be home til later or the morning-if he was out he was out at a bar. If their dad was home and passed out then Dean and Sam would also be safe if they just stayed in their rooms all night. But if Dean got home and their dad was awake then that's when shit would hit the fan, Sam is always home in his room when Dean get's home from school, and he won't come out if their Dad's home. Dean would always end up getting stopped by their father, yelled at, hit, or something worse, then Dean would manage to escape from John for a little bit before grabbing Sam and tearing out of the place in his-technically his father's, but his father's not sober enough to drive anyways-Chevy Impala. Dean would drive them to their uncle Bobby's and aunt Ellen's house a few miles away for the night so Sam didn't have to suffer through their dad's outbursts.
The original plan of moving out after high school didn't work so well as Dean still hadn't managed to save up enough money to get a proper home or proper apartment, so while Sam continued into high school Dean started working full time at Harvelle's Roadhouse and Singer's Salvage Yard-both owned by his aunt and uncle. It's been three years since Dean graduated high school and he still hadn't raised enough money for rent in a decent apartment-that was until he met Castiel Novak a year ago.
Castiel is the same age as Dean and they met at the bar Dean works at, when Dean had a shift change he quickly learned the new regulars and Castiel was one of them. The reason Castiel stood out so much to Dean is that he didn't drink all that much-he didn't drink to escape anything or just do it for fun. Castiel was the kind of guy who went to the bar to just talk to people and get out, he never stayed for more than a couple hours, and the one night he did was when Dean and him actually made a real connection.
Dean works his shift from 7pm to 2am closing time, and Castiel came in at his normal time at 7:30pm. Castiel normally leaves at 8pm and at the latest 8:30pm. Normally Dean pays attention to everyone pretty equally and is more focused on his work than people-even when both girls and guys flirt with him at the bar-but when Dean checked over at 10:30pm and Castiel was still around he grew a little worried. When the flow of customers started to slow down around 12pm Dean decided to take his break a little early and go over to where Castiel sat in the corner watching the T.V. Dean made his way over and stopped at his table.
"So, you've been here for awhile. Something on your mind?" Dean asked.
"Yes, assuming you asked because you actually cared." Castiel took another sip of his beer and grimaced.
"I do actually. I see you in here six out of the seven days a week at the same time. Of course I care."
"You actually notice me?" Castiel sounded surprised at the time.
"You're a regular, I notice all of the regulars around here." Dean was telling the truth, but he also found himself very attracted to Castiel.
"Oh." Castiel then went to actually look at Dean. "Well why'd you come over here?"
"You've been here for awhile and I'm curious why. Not that I don't like you around, but it's different."
The conversation that followed was about Castiel and his family whom always seemed to want to get into his business. His brothers Michael and Lucifer were fighting again and tried to drag Castiel and his other brother Gabriel into it, and Anna his sister was being pushed aside because of the fight. Castiel came to the bar after a particularly long chat about how he was a disgrace to the family from his brother Micheal for a reason Castiel didn't tell Dean, but he was there to try and clear his mind. The two bonded when Dean in return actually shared part of his family's history, he talked about his mom and partially about his dad-he left some of the more violent aspects out. It was from that moment on that Castiel and Dean started an actual friendship, Castiel started sitting at the main bar so he could talk to Dean when the other wasn't busy making orders, and Dean always had Castiel's drink prepared for him the moment he showed up.
The two friends were talking one night when their housing situations were brought up again, Castiel desperately trying to move out of his brother's home and Dean still not having enough money to move Sam out.
"Hey Cas?" Dean turned back just as he was closing up.
"Yes?" Castiel was cleaning the counter even though it wasn't his job but Ellen loved him and gave him tips sometimes.
"I know it sounds kinda crazy, but what if we got an apartment together?" Dean asked.
"Like, You, Sam, and I?" Castiel smiled at the idea.
"Yeah. It gets us all out of the house."
That conversation led to the moment where Dean unpacked his final box. Dean and Castiel bought the apartment last night but had been planning this for months, Dean even managed to keep his mouth shut about it to Sam so that he could surprise his younger brother. "Hey Cas you need any help out there?" Dean called.
"All the boxes are up and I already got the T.V. in, but we still need to bring the bed frames, mattresses, and couch up!" He heard Castiel's voice from the other room.
"Alright I'm coming!" Dean moved from the room and made his way into the living room. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms, one bathroom, one medium-sized kitchen, and a large living room, it wasn't much but it was nicer than most of the affordable apartments. He noticed the front door was still open so he left the apartment and made his way over to the moving van parked next to Dean's Impala. He noticed Castiel struggling with one of the metal bed frames and looked at him skeptically.
"Cas I love you man, but if you scratch my Baby I'll kill you." Dean gave a small smile as he moved over to help the other man with the bed. Castiel only murmured in acknowledgement before accepting Dean's help in order to get the bed frame off the ground and into their new apartment. The process repeated itself until the moving van was completely empty and everything was now safely inside.
After the van left Dean and Castiel moved the bed frames and mattresses into the bed rooms so they each had one full bed in them. One bed frame was a King and the other was only a double with a matching mattress for each.
"Do we know what we're going to do about the sleeping situation?" Castiel asked as Dean helped him move the couch to one side of the living room across from where the T.V. was set up.
"You mean the two bedrooms and two beds, three of us kinda thing?" Dean asked before falling on the couch in exhaustion.
"Yes, exactly." Castiel responded but simply sat on the other end of the dark grey couch.
"Well, I think we should leave it up to Sammy. He's in his weird teenage angst years, might not wanna share with big bro."
"Very true, but you are quite accustomed to living in a close proximity."
"Yeah, but I think it'll be good for him to have himself a proper room." Dean smiled. "But whatever, he'll be the one to decide." Dean shrugged and stood up. "You wanna come with me to get him?" Dean asked before really thinking about what that meant.
"You, want me to come with you? To your house? Dean, are yous sure?" Castiel knew instantly how heavy that was.
Dean paused for a moment to think, but he soon realized that if Castiel lasted with him this long with everything he knew about his family, It'd be okay. A part of Dean also wanted Castiel to see a small part of where he grew up, and he wanted him by his side to face leaving there. "Yeah. I'm sure." He met Castiel's sapphire gaze and he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Okay." Castiel stood up and followed Dean out of the apartment and to where the Impala sat in it's designated spot.
The ride to Dean's house was mostly silent aside from the radio playing rock music quietly in the background. Castiel watched cars drive past as Dean drove towards their destination. Castiel briefly mentioned that it looked like it was going to rain, but it was a comment mostly to himself. The apartment they bought was only about five miles away from Dean's house when they pulled into the driveway. Castiel watched Dean tense up as he stopped the car and simply rested his hand on the other's shoulder in comfort and Dean turned to him in silent thanks.
They both exited the car and Castiel followed closely behind Dean as the green-eyed boy steadily opened the door. Castiel watched Dean's physicality completely change to a on-edge and cautious figure, Dean slowly walked inside and checked instantly to his left and visually relaxed before turning around to wave Castiel further into the house.
Dean's house was relatively barren with only a couch and an old T.V. sitting in the living room. The carpet was stained in multiple places with dark splotches scattered in different parts. The couch was also stained and torn as well as covered in empty beer cans. Castiel followed Dean to a set of three doors that were all closed. One was ajar and Castiel could see inside was a small bathroom, the second had scratches and dents in it, and the third looked nearly untouched. Dean knocked on the third door.
"Sammy, you awake?" Dean asked from the other side.
"Yeah, come in, it's unlocked." Sam answered from inside.
Dean slipped into the room to see Sam sitting on his bed reading from his textbook. "What is it?" Sam asked as he closed it.
"Grab everything you wanna keep, we're leaving." Dean answered.
"We're moving again?" He said disappointed
"We're moving out, you and me."
"Really!?"
"Yeah, now hurry up, Cas and I got an apartment five miles from here. It's our new home."
"Castiel? Cool!" Sam quickly started getting his things together-which wasn't much, it was mainly clothes and his school supplies. Sam had nearly stuffed everything in his backpack besides his pillow and blanket when the sound of a door slamming from the other end of the house was heard.
"Shit." Dean cursed. "Cas get in here." He didn't even wait for the other man to respond before grabbing his arm and dragging him into Sam's room. Dean quickly shut the door and locked it before dead-bolting it. "Sammy you now the drill, through the window." Dean turned to Sam and the boy only nodded before unlatching his window and opening it wide.
"Dean? Sam?" Johns loud voice rang from the other side of the door and the knob rattled as he tried to open it. "Dean! Sam!" His voice grew louder and angrier.
"C'mon Cas." Dean pushed Castiel in front of him. "Out the window like my brother."
"Dean, is that your dad?" Castiel frowned.
"Yeah, haven't made anything up to you yet. Now hurry."
Dean pushed Castiel through the open window when the boy got stuck and Sam helped him stand up from the other side. Dean quickly climbed up and out before shutting the window into place. The trio then moved quickly and silently to the Impala and after shoving Sam's stuff in the trunk, drove off towards their new apartment.
"When did you get the apartment?" Sam asked from the backseat.
"We officially bought it yesterday, but we've been planning this for over a month now." Dean replied.
"And you never told me?"
"It was a surprise!" Dean responded defensively.
When Dean pulled back into the apartment complex parking lot it was mid-evening and it had just started to rain. Sam grew more excited by the minute and when they finally got through the front door he rushed inside to look around. Castiel stayed silent while Sam and Dean discussed rooming details. Sam wanted his own room-to no ones surprise-so he got the room with the double bed and Dean and Castiel would have to share the king mattress in the other room until they bought another bed. Sam instantly started unpacking his stuff and Dean and Castiel slowly started to unbox the rest of the things that still needed to be unpacked.
It was nearing twelve when Dean went to check on Sam and found his brother sound asleep in his new bed. He smiled at the thought of Sam falling asleep to the sound of rain which was now pounding their new apartment-at least it wouldn't leak like their old house. The older brother simply smiled and shut the door before turning around to check on Castiel.
"Hey Cas! Where you at?" He called quietly.
"In the kitchen." Came the other man's reply.
Dean moved into the kitchen and felt his heart drop when he saw Castiel balancing on an old stool. "Woah Cas! Careful man." Dean rushed to steady the stool underneath Castiel's feet. "What's up? Why're you on a stool in the middle of the kitchen?"
"The lights in the kitchen aren't working, I think we need to check the breaker." When Castiel pulled his hands down and away from the lights Dean took a step back. "I can go check on them if-" Castiel was cut off when he fell getting down from the stool. He felt his body hit Dean's and they both crashed down onto the floor. "Ow..." Castiel pushed his upper body off the ground and opened his eyes to meet Dean's staring up at him. "S-sorry Dean." Dean only stared up at him before blinking a few times before he and Castiel pulled away from each other.
"No problem Cas." Dean wouldn't meet his eyes as his started brushing himself off.
"I-I'll go check the breaker." Castiel quickly moved out of the kitchen
"Yeah. Okay." Dean breathed out before moving into living room.
Dean sat on the couch before turning on the T.V. but it soon turned off and he was shrouded in darkness. Dean looked around and quickly realized that the power was out. "Cas! What the fuck did you do now?" Dean called before turning on his phone flashlight in order to search for his friend. Dean maneuvered around the empty boxes looking for where Castiel wandered off to when he heard a small crash followed by a string of curse words. "Cas?" Dean followed the sound and soon found Castiel on the ground with boxes scattered around him. "Smooth Cassinova."
"Shut up Dean." Castiel responded before allowing Dean to help him to his feet.
"What'd you do?" Dean asked.
"I turned the power back on to the kitchen, but I think it overloaded the circuit."
"Dammit Cas."
"Hey, I tried. It gives us an excuse to sleep though." Castiel pouted before turning away from Dean and going off into their room.
"Yeah, I guess." Dean followed after him.
The light from Dean's phone illuminated their small bedroom, their things were divided on each side of the room on either side of the large bed in the middle. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance and was drawing closer. Dean turned his light away from Castiel when he noticed the other man had started to change. After plugging his own phone into it's charger Dean undressed down to his boxers and slipped into bed.
"Dean, this isn't going to be weird is it?" Castiel asked after slipping into his side of the bed.
"Why would it be?" Dean asked without facing him.
"Just...never mind." Castiel turned over so he faced away from Dean.
"Cas?" Dean asked but got no response and decided not to push it. He glanced to look out their rooms window and saw a flash of white followed by a roll of thunder overhead. The older Winchester noticed Castiel shift with the lightning and it grabbed his attention. "Cas? You okay?"
"Yes." Castiel's voice sounded muffled. Dean sat up and went to turn Castiel to face him when the other sat up and started moving away from him. "The door isn't shut I'm going to-" The flash of light and sound of thunder drowned him out and Dean noticed his figure flinch right before he pushed the door closed. "B-better." Castiel said weakly before turning back and tripping into the bed and on top of Dean. "S-shit, Dean I-i'm sorry." Castiel said in between another flash of lighting.
"Cas, are you afraid of storms?" Dean held Castiel down when the blue-eyed man tried to move away from him, but Castiel refused to meet Dean's eyes and he continued trying to pull away from him. "Cas, answer me." Dean could feel Castiel shaking in his arms. "Cas, it's okay you know? It's just rain, and flashing lights, and loud noise." He tried to reassure the other man but Castiel said nothing and refused to look at him so Dean used his body weight to switch there positions so Dean was now looking down at Castiel. Castiel looked up at Dean with the sudden change of positions and Dean could see the fear in his eyes. "Cas you're gonna be fine." Dean sighed when Castiel didn't respond and tried to get off the other but he felt Castiel grip onto his arms.
"Don't go." Castiel said barely above a whisper.
"I won't. But let me get off you okay?" Dean gave him a small smile.
Castiel silently nodded and then released his grip on Dean's arms and Dean in turn moved to sit next to the man. He silently told Castiel to get under the covers and somehow the other understood completely. Dean followed suit and then wrapped his arms around Castiel who had faced him and curled his arms around Dean's chest so that his face was buried into his neck. Dean felt a warmth in his chest as he held Castiel against him while slowly rubbing circles into Castiel's back with his fingers.
"Thank you Dean."
"Of course Cas."
The two were woken up when the sun shone on the bed from the window. Castiel was still curled into Dean and Dean hadn't changed positions since he first fell asleep with Castiel in his arms. Castiel slowly pulled away just as Dean opened his eyes and they both simply stared at each other.
"Morning Sunshine." Dean smirked down at Castiel who was looking up at him in surprise.
"D-dean! I'm sorry, I know-"
"Dude it's fine." Dean cut him off.
"But Dean-!"
Dean closed the space between them by pressing his lips to Castiel's and when he pulled away it was his turn to be flustered and surprised. "Cas, shit, dude I'm sorry. I thought- I don't know." He tried to gauge Castiel's feelings but was met with another kiss and soon they both realized they shared each other's feelings. "Hey Cas?" Dean pulled away from Castiel briefly and the other man looked up at him in confusion. "I'm really happy that Sam got his own room."