It's Complicated

Chapter Five

Dean thinks about Castiel and his lack of shelves for three days straight. He knows he should probably let the guy figure things out on his own, buy some from Ikea if that's what he wants to do, but instead Dean finds himself wondering, How soon is too soon to make a guy shelves? and wandering out to the scrap yard to see if he has anything salvageable.

It takes him two days to finish them up, working on them only on his down time so as not to take time away from paying clients, and when he finishes them, Dean can't keep the grin off his face.

They're simple bookshelves, a couple of tall ones and some shorter ones made from varying woods he had lying around, but with their repurposed feel, they look like something Castiel would like.

After work Dean loads the bookshelves into the bed of his shop's truck and drives over to Stacks. When he arrives he watches Castiel from the truck for a moment. He's counting down the till again, his lips moving along to some unheard song, and Bumblebee is curled up on the same stack of books Dean first saw her on.

Dean feels like a creep, watching Castiel, but there's endearment blooming in his chest that's pushing out the guilt.

Climbing out of the truck Dean calls Castiel and stands by the door. When Castiel answers, his voice is rough, like he hasn't spoken to anyone in hours.

"Hello, Dean," he says. There's a hint of a smile in the man's voice, and it makes Dean smile, too.

"Hey, Cas. You wanna help me with something?"

"What is it you need help with?" Castiel asks. He's cradling his phone between his cheek and shoulder as he sorts through a stack of books.

"For starters you could let me in." Dean says. Castiel looks up, and Dean offers him a wide grin and a wave.

Castiel stares for a moment and then he's walking to the door and unlocking it. "What are you doing here?" he asks, the phone still pressed to his ear.

"I've got something for you," Dean replies as they stand staring at one another. After a beat he pulls his phone away from his ear. "I'm gonna hang up now."

Castiel nods, his brows pulled into a furrow.

"So I had some time on my hands," Dean says, gesturing towards the truck, "made you a few shelves. You wanna help me bring 'em in?"

"You made me bookshelves?" Castiel asks.

Dean's smile is lopsided, his cheeks a little pink as he shrugs. "It's not that bigga deal."

"Dean, that's-" Castiel's eyes flick back and forth between Dean and the bed of the truck. "Thank you," he finishes.  

 Dean nods, smiling. "Sure, Cas."

They unload the bookshelves from the back of the truck and haul them up to Castiel's apartment where Dean helps Castiel mount them to the walls and fill them with books.

While Castiel's books may look like they're stacked with no rhyme or reason, the guy has extremely detailed instructions on where everything goes.

"What about these?" Dean asks, picking up another stack from the floor and looking over the titles. He and Cas are almost done, more books on shelves than on the floor now, and Castiel's apartment is starting to look bigger and less cluttered.

 Castiel glances at the books. "Here," he answers, tapping the shelf next to him.

Dean makes his way across the room and slides the books onto the shelf.  He feels Castiel's eyes trained on him, watching intently as Dean arranges the books in alphabetical order according to author just like Cas had shown him to do, and when he's finished he glances at the other man.

"Did I do it right?" he asks.

Castiel nods, a warm smile on his face. "Perfect," he says.

Their eyes lock together, and Dean forgets to blink, his mind careening desperately into Castiel's wide, blue eyes.

After a beat Castiel gently leans over, squashing their shoulders together, and presses his lips against Dean's. The kiss is soft, brief, but it's enough to leave Dean's head spinning and his face splitting into a wide grin. 

Castiel pulls away, looking down at his feet, his lips stretched into a smile of his own, and neither of them says anything for a moment.

"Would you like some tea?" Castiel finally asks, meeting Dean's gaze once more. The smile is still on his face, and Dean thinks his heart might pound right out of his chest.

"Sure," Dean says.

Castiel nods once. "Alright." He turns to walk away, heading for the kitchen, but Dean grabs his wrist, stopping the man. Castiel turns back, one brow raised.

"I just uh-" Dean stops, his words failing him. Instead of talking he draws Castiel in, both hands going to cup the other man's face, and closes his mouth over Castiel's.

Castiel lets out a small gasp and melts into the kiss, his hands reaching up to grasp Dean's t-shirt at the waist.

There's no space between their bodies, no room for doubt or fear that this doesn't mean the same thing to both of them, and Dean falls into the moment, surrenders himself willingly.

When they pull apart, there's only enough space for them to breathe. "I think I'll make chai," Castiel mutters against Dean's lips, his eyes trained on Dean's nose (or what he can see of it from that close anyway).

Dean smiles. "Okay."

Despite his promise to make tea, Castiel doesn't move, still clinging to Dean like he'll disappear if Castiel lets go, and Dean takes the opportunity to press his lips against the other man's forehead and run his thumbs along Castiel's cheekbones, grateful for the second he has to marvel in the presence of someone who's come into his life and taken him completely by surprise.

Finally, Castiel is slipping from Dean's grasp and disappearing into the kitchen with a small grin on his face, like he's just been swept off his feet.

Dean watches him go with so much want in his chest that he fears it may crack him open.    

"Did you see?" Sam asks hours later when Dean's settled into his couch with a marathon of Dr. Sexy re-runs just starting on KBC.

"See what?" Dean questions.

"Cas' status changed on Facebook."

First Dean wants to ask why the hell his little brother insists on treating that fucking website like it means anything, but instead he's overtaken by curiosity. If Castiel's relationship status no longer says he's ‘Single’, that's of Dean's personal interest.

"What's it say?" he asks, almost afraid to know the answer. After his and Castiel's kiss(es) earlier that day things had carried on like normal. They had tea, finished putting Cas' books on the shelf, and Dean left, simple as that.

"It says ‘It's Complicated.’"

Okay, so maybe things weren't as simple as Dean had originally thought.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Dean grumbles.

"I don't know," Sam admits. "It means, he's not in a relationship, but he's not seeing anyone other than you?"

Dean wouldn't know; they haven't talked about it, but if Castiel's in the same position Dean is, that sounds about right. "Sounds about right to me, Sammy," Dean offers, attempting to get Sam off his case and make it sound like it's not a big deal. If Dean feels the same way then why would ‘It's Complicated’ be a big deal? It's not a big deal. It's not.

"So something happened between you two?" Sam asks.

Dean pulls the phone away, scowling at it, and ends the call without even saying good bye. Sam's too nosey for his own good.

That night, as Dean lies in bed, he wonders what the relationship status for I-have-no-idea-what-the-hell-is-going-on-but-I'd-kinda-like-us-to-only-see-each-other-anymore is. He doesn't figure it out before falling asleep.