Chapter Text
He has no choice. Otherwise he’d never think of breaking into anyone’s property.
But it is so very cold, and he’s not certain whether he might be in the first stage of hypothermia or not.
He needs some place to warm up.
Castiel has no idea why he chooses the black old-timer of all the cars in the street. If anything, it’s going to be less comfortable than the Volkswagen just a few feet next to it. Yet he does.
And there is something comforting about this car, something that makes it almost feel like home, something he cannot quite place.
He curls up on the backseat and goes to sleep.
Dean and his Baby have been through many things together, but he still thinks the quite obviously homeless guy asleep on the backseat takes the cake.
He could just throw the door wide open and demand an explanation, but the man is only wearing jeans and t-shirt, for crying out loud. In December.
He knocks on the glass.
The guy’s eyes blink open and Dean’s taken aback by how blue they are. He’s immediately distracted, however, because in a matter of second, the sleepy expression morphs into one of utter panic and he’s scrambling out of the car.
“I’m so sorry… Please don’t call the police” he pants.
Dean shakes his head. “Relax. I wasn’t gonna call the police anyway.” If he wanted to do anything worse than getting a place to sleep, Dean’s rather sure he would have stolen his Impala ion the first place.
He nods gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll just – “
He’s about to scramble away when Dean grabs his arm. “Hey. Wait a moment.”
He flinches.
Dean clears his throat. “Don’t take this the wrong way… But wanna get breakfast?”
The man squints and tilts his head to the side. “Why would you want to purchase a meal for me?”
“Because you’re evidently down on your luck and I’m nice?” he offers, not surprised by the reaction. Probably a result of his working with teenagers.
Finally, he nods, but more resigned than anything else.
Dean smiles, tries to lighten the mood. “I’m Dean. What’s your name?”
At first, he doesn’t say anything, and Dean’s about to despair when he finally answers, “Castiel.”
“Like… the angel?”
Now it’s the man’s turn to look confused. “You know?”
Dean shrugs. “Yeah. What can I say? I’m into etymology. Comes with being an English and History teacher.”
Castiel studies him before nodding, whether he is accepting his offer or his explanation, Dean doesn’t know until he says, “Alright.”
Dean decides to take him to Benny’s, even though he technically doesn’t have the time. Oh well. He substitutes for others so often he’s sure the school can find someone to mind the kids for an hour and so he sends a text to Charlie, their tech wizard who’s sure to fix everything within ten minutes.
As soon as they stroll into the diner, Benny comes over. “Good morning, brother. Didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Hi Benny. Yeah, me neither. The universe had other plans, it seems.”
Benny knows him well enough not to react to Castiel. He just nods and leads them to a table.
“You know the waiter?” Castiel asks as soon as he’s left them.
“The owner. Yeah, we’ve been friends for a while.”
When he doesn’t answer, Dean continues, “Look, I know you probably don’t want to be a freeloader, but order whatever you want. It’s on me, you hear?”
“You’re kind” Cas says suddenly, looking right into his eyes. “I don’t meet many kind people.”
Dean doesn’t know how to answer. They are still staring at one another when Benny comes to take their orders.
He’s not surprised when Castiel orders more pancakes than Dean thinks even he could put away in one setting.
“Been a while, hm?”
“I can’t remember when I had them the last time” he admits and Dean swallows.
“Say, what were you doing in my car anyway? I’m not angry, but the shelter’s only a few streets away.”
“They were full” he replies, digging into his meal. “I wanted to spend the night in the park, but it was too cold.”
“You can say that again. It was freezing last night.”
Castiel looks down on his plate. “There was nowhere else for me to go.”
And Dean imagines it, being lost in a dark night with no one in town ready to help. “You can stay with me.” The offer escapes him before he’s thought it through.
Castiel’s head rises up. “What?”
“I said” he explains, trying to sound casual, “That I have a spare bedroom in my house and no reason not to help out someone in need. You can stay with me, if you want.”
And then they are once again lost in each other’s eyes.