Work Text:
“You know what tonight was supposed to be?” Sam pouted from the couch. He didn’t give Castiel a chance to answer. “Tonight was supposed to be the night we got to see Somnambulant Soldier. Stupid virus. Stupid quarantine.”
“You’ve been loving this quarantine,” Castiel reminded Sam. “An excuse to stay indoors and focus on your art instead of getting dragged everywhere by Dean? It’s been nice, you keep saying.” Castiel understood Sam’s point, of course. Until now, they had both been more relieved than annoyed that they couldn’t go out to social gatherings. Neither of them really cared for the bars Dean kept making them come with him to, they both worked from home, they were both introverts. Neither of them cared about missing sports. It sucked that new TV wasn’t being made, but there was so much old stuff to discover that it didn’t really matter that much.
The one exception, the thing that could make either of them resent being stuck in the house, was music. Going to one of the big concerts with Dean was all right, but Sam really loved finding obscure bands no one had ever heard of who were playing a bar or a coffee shop or something small and going to broaden his mind. Somnambulant Soldier was slightly different in that this wasn’t a random find by watching the Internet. Sam knew the drummer from high school, and when Garth reached out to let Sam know he was coming in the near future, Sam immediately promised to be there when he came.
Then coronavirus hit, and Garth had to cancel the show. Sam had taken it well, Castiel had thought, but tonight was the night it was supposed to happen. It seemed to be hitting him now that he wasn’t going to get to see Garth. “Is this why you didn’t get anything done today?” Castiel ventured. It wasn’t like Sam to not go anywhere near his workroom. Even on days when he couldn’t do anything with his sculpting, he liked to be in there, cleaning tools or reorganizing or updating his inventory. He’d certainly earned a day off, which is why Castiel hadn’t said anything until now, but it wasn’t like him.
Sam nodded. “Sorry, but it’s just annoying, you know? How often do we make plans months in advance? I know I should be keeping to the routines and all, but…”
“It’s okay, Sam, sometimes you need a day off.” Castiel sat beside Sam and leaned against his shoulder. “You don’t have to justify it or explain yourself to me. I get it.”
Sam shook his head. “Dean can’t go to work, so you and I have to bring in the income. If I’m slacking off…”
“Then you’re not making… how did you put it when I asked about the inventory days… ‘soulless crap for the sake of not slacking off.’ It’s okay, Sam. I don’t think you’ve even taken an inventory or cleaning day since the shelter in place orders came down. I was just about to make you take a day off, in fact. I even had something planned for tonight out of our routine.”
“Now I feel even worse,” Sam mumbled, planting a kiss on the top of Castiel’s head. “Sorry for worrying you and ruining your plans.”
“You haven’t ruined them, not yet,” Castiel said. “I was just coming in here to ask you to go get dressed up.”
“Define dressed up. Gala or costume party?”
“Gala. Trust me.” Castiel slipped out of Sam’s hold and got to his feet. “When you’re dressed, come to the dining room.”
Castiel had just enough time to get everything in place and dressed up himself before Sam made it to the kitchen. The look on his face at the sight of candles, flowers, and a fancy dinner set for two was worth all the effort. “Date night?”
“It was supposed to be anyway, so I figured, why not have a romantic evening here? Dean’s promised to keep himself busy in the garage all evening, so we can enjoy this night together.”
“Heh. That’s so sweet, of him and of you.” Sam took his seat at the table. As he picked up his fork, he gave the steak a somewhat cautious look. “Who cooked?”
“Dean,” Castiel reassured Sam with a smile. While he could, if necessary, cook a reasonably nutritious and filling meal, he was not the one you wanted making a meal you intended to enjoy. “I put the salad together, but anything that requires more than simple chopping and assembly, Dean took care of.”
“Remind me I owe him one. Sometime when he’s not wanting something completely ridiculous, like a chance to go find a hookup despite the quarantine.” Sam took a bite of the steak and made a very happy noise. “What’s after dinner?”
“Dessert, which knowing Dean, is going to end up being pie. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, just that it was special.”
“Yeah, that sounds like pie,” Sam agreed. “But I meant, when we’re done eating entirely. What’s the plan for the rest of the evening?”
“A surprise, and then NetFlix until we decide to go to bed.” The surprise was going to be the best part of the night, Castiel believed. Except maybe for going to bed, that was always good, but this was going to be something Sam would never expect.
To Sam and Castiel’s surprise, when Castiel got up to get the dessert out of the refrigerator, he found two slices of Black Forest cake instead of pie. It was delicious, and Castiel mentally added another tally to the column of favors he owed Dean – Sam was making very happy noises as he savored the chocolate.
At 9:45, Castiel got out their laptops. He sent Sam a link to a Google Meet, and watched Sam light up in amazement when Garth and his bandmates waved hello. “Surprise! That’s one hell of a boyfriend you’ve got there, Sam, shelter in place or not I will find a way to get out there and knock some sense into you if I ever hear about you two breaking up.”
“We can’t go see them in person, but this is going to be the closest we can get for a while, and just imagine the bragging rights,” Castiel teased.
“You’re absolutely right about that, Garth, and if you think you can get here before Dean’s handled things be my guest, but you know Dean. Dean loves this guy. Believe me, I’m well aware of just how good I have it.”