Work Text:
The bell above the door pings and Dean looks up from where he’s been trying to tie the bouquet of flowers together just perfectly. He’s been at it most of the morning, tweaking and perfecting and sooner or later his co-owner and boyfriend, Benny, will tear him away and tell him it’s already perfect.
A young man walks in, looking slightly lost but Dean lets him wander around for a moment before intervening. They’ve got a large shop, something they both worked hard for. They used to have a much smaller one on the outskirts of town but now they’ve moved towards the city, where there’s more traffic and they get a surprising number of customers each day along with online orders and bookings for special occasions.
The bouquet Dean is working on is for his brother’s wedding. Jess had wanted something simple and Dean had told her it would be beautiful.
As Dean wraps a wire around the bouquet to hold it all in place, he keeps an eye on the man, untamed hair and a billowing trenchcoat. If he’d had a briefcase on him, he’d have assumed the guy was an accountant but honestly, Dean can’t get a good read on him—except that he’s nervous and lost.
Benny comes from out the back, touching Dean’s side lightly, a mere warning that he should probably stop fussing over Jess’ flowers. “Go ask if he needs help, I’ll stick these in water for you.”
“Sure,” Dean says and unfolds himself from where he’d been leant over the counter. Stretching his back as he walks, Dean finds the man in front of the roses. They have several colours to choose from, some natural and some dyed and the man looks extremely perplexed.
“Hey there, you okay?”
“Um—” the man turns to him with a frown but Dean has already drowned in his blue eyes. They’re slightly darker than Benny’s but equally as beautiful. Dean swallows.
“What’s the occasion?”
“Oh, I need to buy my, um, girlfriend some flowers.”
Dean grins at the man, this is an easy one then. Benny sidles up next to Dean and he can feel his boyfriend’s presence at his side.
“Dean’ll sort you right out,” Benny agrees.
“I’m breaking up with her,” the man states solemnly, and that’s a bombshell that neither Benny nor Dean were expecting.
“Why the break-up, man?” Dean asks before his brain can thoroughly think the question through. Benny jabs him in the ribs.
The man seems to look between the two as if he’s considering what he’s going to say to them before his shoulders drop and his features relax from their frown to a sad expression as if he’s about to tell them their favourite cat has died.
“She’s not a man,” he explains.
“Oh, dude,” Dean replies somewhat insensitively, and Benny quickly cuts Dean off before he can step his foot in it.
“I’m sure Dean ‘ere will find the perfect ones for you,” Benny tells him gently and Dean watches as Benny reaches out and touches the man’s arm.
Dean smiles, Benny is right. He has the perfect flowers for this man and he quickly walks between buckets and stands to find the ones he’s after before picking a small bunch of striped carnations and purple carnations and then on second thoughts, finds where Benny displayed the giant daisies and adds them to the mix too.
“Follow me,” Dean instructs, making his way back to the front desk where his arrangements are normally made. He directs the man to sit while he sorts out the bouquet.
“You’re very good at this,” the man comments.
“Thanks.” Dean doesn’t look up, just finishes tying the purple ribbon around the plastic and paper wrapping. “Me and Benny set up our company after college. We recently moved into this building though.”
Benny soon comes back out, apron no longer around his waist, and rings the man up. Dean winces a little at the price the man has to pay for flowers to break up with his girlfriend but then Benny gives him a small discount. The man pays without a blink.
“Let us know how it goes,” Benny says. It’s a thing they’ve said to many customers, but of course none of them have ever come back to let them know that whatever occasion they had for the flowers went well.
As the man walks out of the shop, Benny lays a hand over Dean’s and smiles down at him gently. Neither of them notices the look the man gives them on the way out.
Nearly a week later, Dean’s got his back to the door as he refills buckets with water and flower feed. He’s humming to himself and doesn’t register the chime of the bell.
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean spins around violently at the voice spraying water from the hose all over their recently mopped floor. “Dammit.”
“I apologise for startling you,” the man says, but there’s a slight curl of his lips that show Dean he’s amused.
“No sweat. You’re back!” Dean quickly glances around the shop for his boyfriend but can’t seem to spot him. Knowing he’s not that far away, he shouts for him instead. “Hey, Benny! Break-up-flowers-guy is back!”
When he turns back to the guy, there’s a slightly soured look on the man’s face.
“Castiel.”
“Castiel? Oh, Castiel—shit, that was—”
“Insensitive, Dean. Were you born in a damn barn?” Benny hits Dean’s arm lightly and shakes his head at him. “I’m sorry, Castiel,” Benny adds.
“It’s okay,” Castiel says sincerely. He shoves his hands in his trenchcoat pockets and looks around nervously.
“Did you need some more flowers?” Dean asks quietly, hoping not to cause more offence than he already has.
“No, you asked me to come back and tell you how it went, and it well, it went as good as I’d hoped. She didn’t yell or cry or anything, so I’m taking that as a plus. She just said okay and then kissed me on the cheek before leaving.” Castiel shrugs a little where he’s stood. He looks like the break-up affected him more than he let on.
Dean feels guilty for inadvertently making Castiel feel terrible, but Benny squeezes his arm for reassurance.
“You’re more than welcome to stay for a coffee.”
“Yeah, I can go fix you a cup,” Dean chimes in with a smile and Castiel seems to cheer up instantly. “Benny here can give you a quick tour of the place, maybe you’ll find something you like.”
“I like the sound of that—Benny do you have any bee-friendly flowers here?”
“’Course, right this way.” Dean watches as Benny leads Castiel towards the back of their shop to where they have a small outdoors section with outdoor plants for sale. The man isn’t unattractive, not that he’s looking, of course.
Castiel comes back often, more often buying some of their potted plants than fresh cut flowers. Dean hears he’s looking into bee conservation, so he makes a mental note to order some more in with him in mind. Each time he seems more and more relaxed and less phased with his break-up. He often finds Castiel still hanging around after hours, though neither he nor Benny mind and he considers Castiel a friend. Dean doesn’t mention the break up again, and he’s glad when Benny suggests they all go out for a drink at the bar down the road.
After that, it’s coffee and the time Dean takes Cas out when Benny was sick, and Benny taking Cas out when Dean caught whatever bug Benny’d had. It’s all strangely easy and Dean’s not entirely sure what to make of the situation. Castiel is rapidly falling into the more than friends territory and Dean’s beginning to panic. He could never abandon Benny, not for anything—he’s the most amazing man he’s ever met. Except now Castiel is standing in front of them, eyes adoring and curious. He’s good with the plants, asks Dean an all manner of questions which Dean answers in so much detail.
He and Benny are in bed one night, after a whirlwind rush of a job during the day. Dean’s exhausted and he curls up to Benny as the minutes tick by. He’s sure Benny is already asleep, hearing his soft snores as he rests his head on his chest, but then he speaks.
“What’s on your mind, cher?” Benny asks quietly, shuffling so that Dean’s engulfed in Benny’s arms.
Dean breathes for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, figuring out how to talk to Benny about Castiel. He’s not stupid, he’s seen how Benny is with him too, but he doesn’t know if Benny is just being friendly with the guy.
“Is it about Cas?” he asks carefully. Dean nods into his chest. “I got eyes too, he’s sweet.”
“I don’t wanna—” Dean cuts off and sighs, picking up Benny’s hand and playing with his fingers.
“You won’t ruin anything, I know you like him, and I like him too. How about whenever he next comes into the shop you go out for coffee with him, on a date?”
“Without you?”
“Without me,” Benny assures him, pressing a kiss to Dean’s temple.
“Have you always been interested in other people too?” Dean wonders.
Benny huffs a quiet laugh. “Not until Cas walked into the store. I like seeing him with you, and I wouldn’t say we didn’t get along either. Man’s after my heart just buying all our potting plants. He must have a proper back yard somewhere.”
Dean hums. Flowers hadn’t always been on the agenda for him, but meeting Benny in college and already enjoying landscaping and garden architecture, it wasn’t the biggest jump. He enjoyed the focus of building up bouquets, figuring out the meanings and saying what words couldn’t. He still does a couple of jobs a year for family and friends—and friends of friends—and he loves being able to keep up his skills.
“I’ll ask him out,” Dean says with a yawn, pulling the sheets up around them both before letting his head hit the pillow again. “Love you, Benny.”
“You too, Dean.”
It’s three days before they see Castiel again. Dean’s nervous for what Castiel might say but the man comes in all smiles, leaning on the counter after eyeing up their newly stocked potted lilies and a tiny succulent that Benny found a tiny yellow pot for.
“Hello, Dean.”
“Cas! Hey.”
Dean’s a hairs-breadth away from backing out of the plan when Benny comes out from the back, squeezing past Dean and giving him a knowing nudge. Castiel doesn’t seem to notice and instead begins to talk about a new project he’s looking into.
“I’ve been looking to cut down my accounting hours anyway since it’s been so stressful recently, but between my plants and my cat, I have time to look into bee conservation. I think it’s going to be great to be able to do more than just hoard flowers on my balcony.” Castiel laughs and picks up the spool of ribbon on the counter.
Dean takes the natural pause to ask before he chickens out. “Do you want to go for coffee with me, on a date?”
Castiel stops, looking at Dean a little bewildered. “A date? You and Benny aren’t dating?”
“We are, and before you ask, Benny knows—actually encouraged—about me asking you on a date. If that’s not something you’re after, that’s definitely okay. But he knows, and I know… and now—you know.” Dean bites his bottom lip before he talks too much and waits patiently for Castiel’s answer. He can’t hear Benny moving things around either, and wonders briefly if Benny is waiting for the answer too.
“Let’s go and get coffee,” Castiel says after a pause. He tilts his head a little, narrowing his eyes like he’s trying to look deep into Dean’s soul. Dean can only hope that he likes what he sees.
“I can look after the shop. Just bring me back some coffee and I’ll forgive you for leaving me in the shop on my own,” Benny calls from behind a stack of pre-cut flowers.
Dean grins. “He’s easy to please,” he explains and it makes Castiel chuckle. “See you later!”
They walk shoulder-to-shoulder across the street, and it’s a quiet companionship. The independent place that Dean and Benny rely on for their daily coffees is crowded as usual, but Dean spots a table in the middle.
“Take the table, tell me what you want.”
“Honeycomb latte, please,” he requests and Dean nods as he joins the queue. As he waits, Dean’s eyes flick to Castiel who waits patiently, shrugging off his trenchcoat and revealing a suit jacket, button-down and tie. It looks good on him.
“What can I get for you?” Dean just about remembers to tune back into ordering coffee and gets Cas’ order as well as his strong black coffee.
He takes their drinks back to the table, slipping Castiel’s down in front of him.
“So, how is it that this works?” Castiel asks, wrapping his hands around the tall latte glass.
Dean shrugs initially. It’s new to him and Benny too, but he’s hoping that between the three of them they can figure something out. “I guess that’s up to you.”
“Would it just be you, or both of you? You said Benny was okay with it, with this, but he’s not here.”
“He didn’t want to overwhelm you, figured we could at least get to know each other first before we jump in.”
“So, the three of us?” Castiel’s eyes narrow and Dean watches as Castiel thinks for a moment, tapping the side of his glass.
Dean takes a sip of his too-hot coffee, just for something to do. It burns his lips but he tries not to show it.
“I’m open to it.”
“You are?”
“Yes, why not, if you were both single, I think I’d have a hard time choosing between you. Benny’s very handsome, and you…” Castiel trails off but gives him a lustful look, eyes dark, mouth curled into a smirk that he’s never seen on the man before now.
Dean feels himself go hot, cheeks flushing at the implication. He flusters for a moment but recovers enough to reach across the table. They join fingers, and quietly sip their coffees. Dean asks Cas more about his conservation project, chipping in with what little he already knows from his landscaping work. Some of his clients in the past asked him about bee-friendly flowers and planting and so often he found himself catering to the bees before he even knew it mattered. Dean knows in that respect, Benny and Castiel will get along just fine.
All three of them share a common interest, and he looks forward to figuring out how Castiel will fit into their relationship. The rest of the hour goes by in a flash, the coffeeshop graces over its afternoon rush and into the lulled period.
“This date has been lovely, Dean, but I should head back home. My cat is a bit fussy over when he’s fed so I imagine he’s screaming at the front door by now as if he doesn’t have dry food out for him to pick at.”
“Sounds like a typical cat to me,” Dean agrees. He stands along with Castiel and waits for him to don his coat before they leave together, grabbing a takeout coffee for Benny.
Castiel doesn’t live too far away, their flower shop on his walk home from work, so Dean walks back with him and says goodbye at the storefront.
“Did you kiss him?” Benny asks. He’s digging around in one of their kitchen cupboards for a particular pan that apparently Dean put away last but doesn’t recall it.
“Nah, I don’t kiss on first dates, you know that.”
Benny stands up, looking him dead in the eye with the large paella pan in his hands. “Sure, chief.”
He and Benny did way more than kiss the first time they met. “But our actual first date I didn’t kiss you then. Just ‘cause we fucked that first time doesn’t make it count,” Dean teases.
For that Dean gets hit in the shoulder with a bag of rice as Benny laughs.
“Hey, he called you handsome, you know!” Dean reasons, making Benny turn back to him before he carries on beginning their dinner. “Oh yeah, and what did he call you?”
Dean flushes, remembering the look he got from Castiel. “The last time someone looked at me like that, I got laid,” he says with a wink towards Benny.
“Well, I have first-hand experience with that. Must be something you give off,” Benny says. Dean’s about to protest but Benny comes back to the dining table, hands towards his chest and presses a kiss to Dean’s cheek. “Makes you lovable.”
Dean sighs happily.
Castiel comes over the next week and he’s in much more casual clothing since he’s not coming straight from work. Benny greets him at the door, welcoming him in and Dean has coffees ready to go in the living room. He greets Benny with a kiss on the cheek and where Dean would think to expect jealousy, he only feels a warmth spreading within him.
He and Benny had talked about it a lot more in the past week and when Castiel was in the store they had a chance to speak with him too. One evening, Castiel bought them all coffees and Dean leaned over the counter and kissed him.
That had been the first time, and since then, they managed it every chance they could. Kissing Castiel was intense and different, a perfect match to Benny who gave him the softness and passion he needed where Castiel gave him the power and hardness he wanted. Even the softest pecks on the cheek felt like something else.
Tonight’s plans were simple, takeout and a movie. They all crowded on the couch, mostly intended for just Dean and Benny, but neither minded squishing up a bit. After food, Benny promptly fell asleep on the couch and Dean rolled his eyes but leaned into him. It’s just he and Cas for Avengers it seems. As the movie wears on, Dean notices how Castiel relaxes, getting closer and closer to him until he’s practically in Dean’s arms.
Dean doesn’t remember quite when he stopped paying attention to the movie, but he begins to thread his fingers through Castiel’s hair as Castiel watches the movie with as much intensity as he gives watching Dean put together a bouquet or stacks the shelves in the shop—and that’s a lot.
Castiel turns his head up towards Dean, kissing him on his throat. A hot flush works its way over Dean as he bares his throat to let Cas do what he wants, peppering kisses down the column of his throat. Dean breathes heavily and tries to get his hands on Castiel, anywhere he can.
Castiel’s hands rest on Benny’s chest behind him, sure to wake him up—not that he’s going to want to miss this show—and then Cas’ lips are on his. Hot, wet and breathless, Dean tries to keep up and just as he gets into the rhythm, Cas pulls away and kisses Benny behind him.
Even in just the short weeks of knowing each other, Castiel seems to fit into all the places that Dean and Benny don’t for one another, and filled in the gaps they never knew they were missing. Dean hopes that he and Benny do the same for Castiel too.