Much More Than a Hunch Part 2
Title: Much More Than a Hunch Part 2
Author: Gedry
Pairings: Dean/Cas
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1119
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Spoilers: none
Warnings: None
Summary: For lillyg who wanted FLUFF and got a daycare verse instead.
No beta, my bad!
Much More Than a Hunch
“You’re not serious,” Sam asks for the third time that night. “Cas?”
“Yes damn it,” Dean huffs. “Yes, it was Cas. How weird is that?”
“Pretty weird man,” Sam chuckles “Not that you bumped into him because it’s not that big of a town. But the same daycare? That means he probably lives near here too. You going to try to get together with him?”
“I don’t know man,” Dean sighs. “I’m not sure I want to put myself out there right now. Things are a mess for me.”
“I know that,” Sam agrees with a nod. “But you and Cas lived in each others pockets as kids. I just thought maybe it would be good for you guys to reconnect. He could give you someone to lean on.”
“We didn’t exactly part as friends Sam,” Dean grumbles as he washes the dishes. “You might not remember that but Cas and I…things fell apart pretty ugly.”
“What really happened between you two?” Sam asks. “One day you came home and looked like you had been crying and then you guys just never looked at each other again.”
Dean closes his eyes as he flashes back to a cool night out under the stars, Cas’ mouth wet and hot underneath his clumsy attempt at a first kiss. Then the horrified look on his friend’s face when it was over.
It’s a sin Dean. You’re going to go to Hell for this.
“It was nothing man,” Dean mutters to his brother. “It happened a hell of a long time ago anyway.”
“Hey Dean,” Sam says after a few moments of silence. “Speaking of you having a lot to deal with; I wanted to ask you something.”
“About what?” Dean asks as he slips down onto the recliner and takes a sip of his coffee.
“I know you’ve been looking for a house,” Sam starts only have Dean interrupt him.
“You need us out of here?”
“Fuck no Dean,” Sam sighs. “Just let me finish okay? I want you to think about maybe staying here permanently.”
“What?” Dean blurts.
“I like having you here. I’ve got the room. I love the boys and you need help,” Sam lists like he’s put a ton of thought into it. “I was kind of hoping you might want to just settle in. It’s been great having you so close. I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah okay,” Dean manages to get out around the lump in his throat. “Thank you Sam.”
“Whatever,” Sam shrugs. “It’s nothing.”
But they both know he’s lying. It’s everything.
*****
He sees Cas every Tuesday and Thursday. They seem to be on the same schedule picking up the kids on those days. Every so often he bumps into the other man on Friday morning but Dean suspects that must be Cas’ day off or something because instead of a suit he’s wearing jeans and boots on those days. He seems less structured on those mornings, more relaxed.
Ben and Anna have become fast friends after their rocky start. Dean’s never been prouder than the day he gets called from work to come to the office because someone was teasing Anna about her hair and Ben had punched the kid in the mouth. He never mentions it to Cas, not that they talk a whole lot anyway. But since that day his childhood friend has treated Ben with some extra affection.
Jesse and Claire fight like cats and dogs and Dean’s secretly glad she’s a grade level above the boys. If they were together all day Dean’s pretty sure they would have to be separated.
“I’m sorry about Jesse,” he offers on a particularly bad day when they have to actually pry the two kids off each other while Ben and Anna stand, holding hands, nearby.
“Claire can be difficult,” Cas answers as he drags her to the car while she screams. “She’s very passionate; like her father.”
And that’s news to Dean. “Her father?”
“Gabriel,” Cas answers with a nod. “I’m simply responsible for picking her up and dropping her off since we live so close together.”
“Oh,” Dean says quietly. “So it’s just you and Anna then?” He’s not sure why it’s important. He wants it to not be important. As soon as he says it he wants to grab the words and stuff them back in his mouth.
“Yes,” Cas answers calmly. “It’s been just the two of us for a while now. It’s how we ended up back here, to be closer to some of my more accepting family.”
Dean doesn’t know what he means by accepting and he’s not going ask. It’s not his place. “I’m living with Sam,” he blurts out for some unknown reason because Cas hasn’t asked him a damn thing about himself in all the times they’ve seen each other. “The boys and I moved in with him after my wife died.”
“I’m sorry,” Cas says and when Dean looks up from shutting the back door after making sure the boys are buckled into the car the other man is standing well into Dean’s personal space but the look he has is sincere.
“Thanks,” Dean mutters as he steps backwards. “It’s been really hard.”
He turns and slides into the driver’s side seat, slamming the door behind him before Cas has a chance to say anything else. The boys are suspiciously silent on the drive home.
The following Friday, just as the fall is creeping into winter Dean’s headed back to his car to go to work when Cas pulls up with the girls. Normally they would just nod or say hello and keep going but the car Cas is driving sounds like it’s on it’s about to blow up.
“Dude,” Dean chuckles at the disgruntled look the other man makes at the machine when he gets out. “You have a serious problem.”
“Clearly,” Cas sighs.
“Look,” Dean stops himself to take a moment to consider the implications of what he’s about to say but then drive onward anyway. “I work at a garage in town as a mechanic. Bring the car by today if you can and I’ll check it out. It’s Singer’s Auto and Salvage.”
“Thank you,” Cas comments as the girls start dragging him away.
“Thank me after I fix it,” Dean snorts as he watches Cas enter the building and then heads off to work.