West Coast

Chapter Twenty-three

Cas was trying to focus on his latest painting, but kept gazing at Dean instead.

Dean glanced up at him. 'What are you staring at?'

Cas tilted his head to get a better look at Dean's face; the freckles, the way his green eyes lit up in the sun, and the tiny frown between his eyebrows that formed whenever he wanted to read something on his own.

'I feel strange.'

'In what way?' Dean said, putting down the file he was holding.

'I don't know,' Cas said, twirling a brush in his hand. 'It's because of what we did.'

'That's not very reassuring for me,' Dean said nervously.

'No, not in a bad way either. It's hard to describe.'

'So you're just leaving me with: you feel weird because we had sex? That's no fun, Cas.'

Cas rolled his eyes. 'This may not make sense, but it's like - it's like I missed you, and now I feel better, but I didn't even know I missed you, so it's hitting me as well. Do you understand?'

'Kind of?'

Cas sighed. 'I really don't know how to describe it, Dean.'

'So paint it, like you always do.'

Cas nodded and started a fresh canvas. 'Maybe I'm feeling more like myself,' he mused.

'What do you mean?'

'Like all the pieces are coming together... although...' He looked down at one of the paintings of the beach. 'Still missing a few...'

Dean was still looking through nurse files when Sam and Jess arrived.

'Hey, guys,' Sam smiled, holding Mary on his hip.

'Hey,' said Dean, without looking up.

Jess sat down with a her Starbucks. 'New painting?' she asked Cas.

'Yes. I'm trying to figure something out.'

Sam didn't say anything, but looked at them both suspiciously. 'What are you doing?' he said, looking at the files on the table. 'You don't read.'

'I'm not reading, I'm looking at pictures of hot nurses, see?' He turned over the file for Sam to look at.

Cas sniggered, and Sam squinted at them.

'Something's different,' Sam said. He looked at them, sitting a little too closely together, the beginnings of a portrait of Dean on Cas's canvas, and the way Cas's eyes darted around Dean's face, and lingered on his lips every so often.

'What do you mean?' Dean asked innocently.

'You're not so tense... and less... red?'

'Yeah, he's way less antsy than usual,' Jess added, sipping her coffee.

'When did this turn into "interrogate Dean day"?'

'We're not interrogating you,' said Sam. 'Why? Have you got something to hide?'

'What? No,' Dean laughed nervously. He glanced at Cas, and Sam gasped loudly.

'Oh my God, you guys had sex!'

'Sam!' Jess exclaimed, reaching over and covering Mary's ears.

'Dude!'

'Don't deny it, I can tell by the look on your face. I just haven't seen it in a while.'

'Do I want to know why you know what your brother's post-sex face looks like?' Jess asked, hands still over Mary's ears.

'That's an excellent question,' Cas said, putting his brushes away.