Hold Me While My World Falls

Chapter Seven

Morning was easy when you had something exciting planned. It was so nice to actually look in the mirror and smile simply from seeing your reflection.

Dean still didn't wake up like a damn Disney princess though.

He stretched out completely, hitting his arm on the headboard, his feet going over the edge before flopping back down for a moment. Then he stood up, cursing as usual at the freezing cold floor, and went about his morning routine.

After his shower, he let Jo outside and made himself some breakfast. Dean felt like a bear rummaging for a food cache to last the winter. He would have to go shopping pretty soon, probably on Saturday. However scarce the ingredients, Dean could still whip up a decent omelette.

With fifteen minutes to spare, Dean was done with everything he needed to do. He'd eaten, showered, let Jo outside and back in. Even the dishes Dean had deeply feared a while ago were few and far between. Dean decided to pick out a date outfit so he wouldn't be running around like a chicken with his head cut off at the last minute.

He went to his closet. And found a lot of plaid. With a sigh, he searched around in the back section for a dressy shirt.  He definitely preferred red since that brought out his green eyes, but he'd settle for black. Suddenly his eyes fell on a nice, clean burgundy button up.

"Score!" Dean grinned, pulling it off the hanger and laying it on his bed. He then chose a pair of blue jeans and debated between his usual boots or fancy shoes. Forgoing the fancy shoes since they made him feel a bit like a monkey in a suit, he settled on the boots.

Satisfied, Dean left his house and drove to work.

"Cassie, you're acting rather nervous." Gabriel said helpfully.

Castiel glared at his brother. "I'm aware I'm terrified." He deadpanned. He quickly went back to fixing his forever-fucked dark hair in the mirror.

"Your hair is fine, if Dean had any problems with it he'd have said so by now."

"We've only been hanging out for a week." Castiel stated, realizing how quickly they'd both developed a crush. Maybe things were going too fast... what if Dean tired of him? What if he suddenly freaked out if Castiel touched his hand? What if-

"I can see the gears turning in your head, Asstiel. Relax, okay? So what if you've only been seeing him since Monday? Maybe it was love at first sight." Gabriel said, being supportive in his own, terrible way.

Castiel ignored the nickname. It's not like that was the first time he'd heard it. You try going through high school with a name that rhymed with ass. Instead, he focused in on a strand of hair that was still sticking up.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, and left Castiel to his work.

The older brother would have time to fix himself between work and the date, but he knew it wasn't going to be enough. He started psyching himself up. "You've got this. You are incredibly sexy. You are alluring. You can bring home any guy any day of the week. You can begin a relationship with Dean Winchester." The last thought struck him all of a sudden. He might actually begin dating his next door neighbor. And, as if they'd ever left, the what-ifs were scrambling again.

Had a cop stopped him, Dean would have had to lie about his speed on his way home. He could tell them he had a a Yorkie that peed when he's nervous. Speaking of nervous, butterflies had taken up a cocoon in Dean's stomach since he'd asked Castiel on a date. Last time he'd felt like this was back in high school, and it had never been this strong before. That was probably the first time he went on a real date, or when he had his first kiss. Ah, the first kiss... how had Dean managed to hide that part of himself for so long? Now that he was admitting it to himself, he couldn't fathom how he'd trained himself to be so strictly into women; it felt like a whole other world was ripe for exploration. He shook his head, smiling so much his cheeks hurt. No more hiding. No more running. He was free, and he deserved to be happy.