What is WRONG with me? What in the world would even possess me to do that?
-You know what.
Dean looked around the kitchen sheepishly, as if his thoughts could be heard.
Shut up.
He continued on with his task of early lunch. He had to admit, he was pretty killer at a good sandwich. Making food also happened to be his favorite distraction. Well, his favorite distraction that wasn't blonde and feisty. Still...he couldn't stop the flood of thoughts from spilling over.
Maybe Cas would just think it was a normal human gesture of friendliness?
It was a slip, Dean hadn't had one of those since high school. But this wasn't high school and he wasn't fooling around in the janitor's closet. For god's sake it's-
"Cas-ti-freakin'el..."
"What has he done now?" Suddenly Sam was casually strolling into the kitchen with a lore book and laptop in hand. Dean hadn't even realized he had spoken aloud and desperately racked his brain trying to figure out at what point his thoughts started being vocalized. "...and why do you look like a deer caught in headlights?"
"I....what? No I don't, shut up." Dean wasn't sure what Sam had heard and wasn't sure how to play it out yet. He made sure to keep his back to him though because his brother could always tell when he was embarrassed. "Want some lunch?"
Sam looked at Dean suspiciously, "No thanks, I already ate." There was silence between them and only the sound of Dean scraping a knife across bread could be heard. "So how is Cas?"
"He's....good," Dean cleared his throat and continued, "He always bounces back, doesn't he? Anyways, I convinced him to come out and eat so my work for the day is done." Dean smiled triumphantly over his shoulder to his brother.
"Small victories, I suppose." Sam said with a shrug and not an ounce of enthusiasm. He continued his research at the table, occasionally taking the time to jot down some notes.
"Are we coming back from hiatus or have yah picked up a hobby you haven't told me about yet?" Dean asked, gesturing with a pack of lunch meat to Sam's book.
"It may be nothing..."
"But you think it's something."
Sam flustered, "Yeah I think it's something." He turned his laptop around so Dean could see the screen, "I think we may have a witch two towns over."
Dean leaned forward to see multiple windows open of articles, all claiming something to do with mysterious death. "Alright, you have officially peaked my interest. Lay it on me."
"So get this," Sam immediately perked up, "There have been four deaths right? The sheriff issued a statement where he admitted all the cases were weirdly similar but said there wasn't enough evidence to establish a pattern. I think it's not just a pattern, I think it's a supernatural pattern."
"What happened to the stiffs?" Dean inquired, continuing to assemble the sandwiches.
Sam scanned his computer screen, "Each body was that of a person who had documented extramarital affairs. The deceased had signs of poison but tox reports came up negative for everything they tested. And the crazy part? The vics were found with claw marks over their hearts, from their own hands."
"You're right that does smell like our sort of thing, but why a witch? It could be a demon having his fun collecting debts."
"No sulfur. And because I found this book buried in the men of letters stuff. It has a passage that strikes a weird resemblance to our case. A spell for scorned lovers." Sam looked pleased with himself while he read aloud from the book, "And they shall burn for their betrayal but shiver from the ice in their heart. Their breath shall be taken away as they took another's away. They will know how it feels to have a heart ripped out from unrequited love."
Dean had finished making the sandwiches and set them on the table across from Sam. "That's rough. So they screwed around and now they're the target of some crazy witch? What's in it for the witch?
"I don't know Dean. Revenge maybe? Maybe the witch was scorned themselves and has a problem with adulterers or they were a hired by 'scorned lovers' to get even."
Dean nodded, taking a moment to absorb the information. If this turned out to be real, it would mean finally getting back to how things used to be. Dean had been feeling a little like a bored housewife these last few days and found himself very eager to take down this witch. Then it occurred to him. "What about Cas?"
"What about me?" Cas replied, appearing in the kitchen doorway. This was just the day of sneaking up on Dean apparently. Cas had changed into old jeans and a plain white shirt of Dean's, both of which hung off his slim frame and threatened to swallow him whole.
Dean froze. He had decided to pretend like he hadn't...touched his mouth...to his best friend's but he hadn't expected to feel so god damn nervous when Cas walked in. He just prayed that Cas wouldn't mention it in front of Sammy, and yes, he did see the irony in that. Sam noticed the awkward stare going on between the two and took hold of the situation.
"Oh good you're here, Cas. We will explain while you eat," Sam shot Dean a pointed look, "won't we Dean?"
"Uh yeah, yeah. Made you a sandwich and Sam thinks we might have a case." Dean said pointing Cas to his place at the table, with zero eye contact.
Cas sat down between Dean and Sam. He looked at his food with dismay but still picked it up and took a bite. He chewed mechanically and swallowed. "You think I shouldn't accompany you for this case."
Dean and Sam shared a look. Sam raised his eyebrows and averted his eyes, thoroughly conveying that he had no intention of engaging.
"It's not that we don't want you there, man. We do, I promise. But to be fair...this is the first time you've really gotten out of bed in days...are you up for a case?" Dean asked in his meant-to-be-gentle-but-comes-out-sounding-condescending voice.
Cas took another bite, taking his time to chew and swallow once again. "I might as well be put to use."
Sam turned on his puppy eyes and basically attacked Cas with reassurances but Dean couldn't be bothered to pay attention. His amazing sandwich wasn't even doing the trick, damnit. All he could think about was the way Cas' mouth moved in reply to Sam. Then how his lips felt. Different from a woman's, yeah, but still...good.
What was going on with him? He wasn't even day drunk yet, so why the fuck were these things in his head?
Then Sam was waving his hand in front of Dean's face, "Dean? Hello? What do you think?"
"Huh? Uh, say it again, I didn't catch that last bit." He mumbled while finishing up his sandwich.
"I was saying I'll go get some supplies and get our suits dry-cleaned and then tomorrow we can get an early start out."
Dean thought for a moment. He couldn't stay idle for another night, not with how weird he's been acting. He really needed this case. Now. "Better yet? Let's get out tonight." Dean flashed his famous smile and collected his dishes from the table, "You get that stuff done Sammy and I'll pack us some bags."
Dean made his exit with Cas' eyes closely following him. Sam noticed how...lost Castiel looked when Dean went out of view. He wasn't jealous of their profound bond anymore. He could tell that they both meant a lot to each other, even if Dean was a bit oblivious to it most of the time. "He worries about you, that's why he gets like that. Don't take it personally." Sam said nonchalantly, keeping his eyes in his book, assuming that Cas wouldn't want him to make a big deal out of it.
Cas cleared his throat. "Sam, I need help. On a personal matter."
Sam almost laughed in disbelief, Cas? Personal life? "Okay let's hear it." He set his book down and paid his full attention.
"As you know, I am completely human now. There are so many things...feelings...that are new to me and I'm not quite sure how to handle them, especially when they are aimed towards a person. I find myself wanting things that I'm not sure I can have." Cas said quietly and unsure of himself.
"What like you have a crush on someone? Someone you met before you ended up here? Because let me tell you Cas, it's perfectly normal to feel those things and although we probably won't be able to find her, I'm sure we can find another girl-"
"Thank you, Sam. I understand now." Cas interrupted, giving a forced half-smile. He left a very confused Sam at the table alone as he hurried back to his room.
Sam didn't understand what he said wrong. He chalked it up to Cas feeling too embarrassed to stay for a whole lecture. It was kind of sweet really, Cas having a crush. Though he couldn't imagine a newly fallen Cas would have had time to make a love connection while trying to survive each day. He even more so couldn't believe that Cas would be into short flings, having been an angel and everything. He wondered....no....couldn't be. He laughed for even having the idea. Sam grabbed the impala keys and as soon as he made it out the front door, he didn't give Castiel's predicament another thought.