Destiel AU

Part 26 & 27

He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a wet dream, least of all of someone he knew. Dean kicked off the covers, steadying himself to get out of bed. He was shaken by the dream. It had seemed so real but at the same time he knew it wasn't. The part of consciousness that remained while dreaming letting him not fully enjoy the dream because consciously he knew it was not true, something that he could never have. He remembered Castiel's brilliant smile and blue eyes, staring down at him as they became one in the dream.

Dean stood, a little shaky on his legs before walking out of his bedroom. When he was in the bathroom the clock on the wall told him it was already the afternoon. He was surprised that neither Sam nor Jessica had woken him up. The light throbbing in his hands brought his attention to them. Blood had seeped through them, most likely because of his restlessness during the dream. Dean tore off the bandages, purple bruises had formed on his skin and it ached to move them. He undressed carefully, trying not to move his hands a whole lot as he removed his damp clothes. He set the shower on cold before stepping inside.

Castiel distracted himself often by playing with his niece Claire. The two really enjoyed each other's company, Claire would giggle every single time Castiel swept her up in his arms. Anna Novak would often leave her brother to look after her daughter as she went out to do chores or go shopping for her daughter's birthday party. It had been three days since Castiel had last seen Dean and he did not want to think about the other man. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, his minds would take him back to that moment. To Dean reaching out towards Castiel, shaking little a newborn foal, fragile. He regretted what he had done, when he had turned Dean down. Something inside him knew that it was wrong, he had just been too foolish to acknowledge it, too caught up in whatever Michael had told him.

"What is it?" Anna interrupted Castiel's thoughts, taking Claire up off the ground into her arms.

"What?"

"You've been silent ever since you came back from that date with Dean, what happened?" Anna probed again, making a funny face at Claire.

"Michael interrupted us. He said some things about Dean, and now, I'm not sure what to think," Castiel confessed. Anna gave Claire a kiss on the forehead before putting her gently back on the ground. She sat down next to Castiel and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I know you and Michael don't get along, and I've never understood that, but don't let something he said turn you away from Dean. I've known Dean for a long time, I know about his past. It's not my place to tell you about it but what I can tell you without a doubt is that Dean is a good man."

Castiel gave a weak smile back at his sister, "Really?"

"Yeah. Now why don't you help me hang up these streamers? We have a party to organize, I made sure to get Sam to agree to drag Dean to this party."