Work Text:
It had been a week since Castiel last saw Dean, but that didn’t mean the man wasn’t occupying only every single second of Castiel’s thoughts. It was almost shameful, really, how often Castiel found his mind drifting back to the fateful day, seeing Dean clad in just those panties, body open and challenging with defianceeven as his eyes were hooded with… not shame, exactly, but something more reserved. Almost embarrassed, but still proud. Comfortable, as much as he could be, baring a vulnerable part of himself to the entire street, even if Castiel was his only audience.
It was something entirely personal, that Castiel had broached on, and yet, he yearned to see it again.
Which was why he was doing this right now. Pretending to ignore Gabriel’s all too calculating eyes as he opened his back door, and left it wide open… and conveniently overlooked his cat darting out like a flash of lightning.
Trying to suppress a smile, because really, this had to be violating quite a few ethical codes and morals he once upon a time had in his dictionary, Castiel patiently waited, leaning against the wall.
And sure enough, he was right there to catch Gabriel when the cat slunk back in, looking like the cat that caught the canary for all of five seconds before Castiel was yanking his prize from his mouth, immediately inspecting it…
And yep. Now it was Castiel that had caught the canary, because rather than the regular boxers Gabriel had seemed to be on an annoying streak in snatching (although, the Scooby Doo boxers were an interesting enough pair to make up for the disappointment), this time, Castiel was staring at a lacy pair of black panties instead.
Swallowing down a groan, Castiel was desperately caught up in the urge to rub the fabric between his fingers, only the last threads of his remaining morality stubbornly clinging to his mind refusing to allow him to do so. Still, unbidden, the thought of Dean in this pair instead of those pink ones flashed in his mind.
Not that there had been anything wrong with the pink ones. The soft color warring with the blush that had appeared on Dean’s cheeks was still a vibrant enough memory to have Castiel’s mouth water. But the thought of Dean wearing this lace one instead, with the floral pattern only just covering himself…
Desperately clearing his throat, Castiel made his way back to where he’d stashed the rest of Dean’s undergarments – six pair of boxers, and now one pair of panties – and heaved the same box he’d stored Dean’s undergarments in since the first time up into his arms.
He made sure Gabriel was still in his living room before he firmly shut the door closed behind himself, and if the cat looked far too smug and like he knew all too well why he wasn’t getting reprimanded… well.
This time, Dean wasn’t outside when Castiel crossed the street. His garage door was still open, and there were sponges and other equipment near his car, so Castiel surmised that the man had been about to start washing his car. He could wait outside until the man came out, but Castiel had used up all his patience the past week.
He made his way to the front door, and without any further ado, rang the doorbell.
It didn’t take long for it to open, revealing an adorably confused Dean – right until he registered who he was looking at, along with what Castiel was holding as his eyes dropped down to the box in Castiel’s arms a fraction of a second later.
Much like the first time, Dean’s face underwent a rainbow – of expressions, rather than colors this time. Castiel could pick out shock, embarrassment, anger, and resignation, before Dean sighed.
“Man, how does your cat keep getting into my house anyway?”
Castiel shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unconsciously cocking his hip and jutting the box out in the process. “Do you often leave your garage door open and unattended?” He retorted, before amending his statement. “Although, I wouldn’t blame you for not noticing him still. I had to keep my eyes pinned on him to take note of where he’d been disappearing to, and he was still remarkably fast for a cat that otherwise spends his time lazing about.”
Dean huffed with what might’ve been amusement, but there still seemed to be some dread lingering in his eyes. “So… mind if I have them back?” He eventually said, when Castiel made no move to give him the box.
It was enough of a reminder for Castiel to jolt back into himself, and he easily relinquished the box, waiting for Dean to quickly rifle through the contents before he brought the attention back onto himself.
“Oh, and there was one more thing…” Pulling out the single article of clothing he’d hastily shoved into his pocket earlier, Castiel held out the black air of panties, carefully holding it with both hands.
Dean flushed, a wondrous, bright red color, before a hand struck out to grab the panties. Forgotten, the box fell to the ground with a soft thud, and Dean looked down at it with lingering shock, hands cupped around the panties.
A couple of seconds ticked by, before Dean said anything, sounding faint. “Thanks,” he didn’t look at Castiel.
Castiel smiled. “I highly doubt you have anything to be ashamed of, Dean,” he remarked lightly. Dean’s head shot up at that, something sharp flashing through his eyes.
“I’m not ashamed, dude. Just not too thrilled about flashing the goods to my neighbor, is all.”
Castiel had to hand him that one. “Nonetheless,” he went on, “I’d imagine you’d look as exquisite wearing that pair as you are with that adorable blush donning your cheeks right now.”
If possible, Dean blushed a brighter red, and a hungry part of Castiel wanted to lean forward and taste that undoubtedly heated skin.
Yet, there was something cocky about the way Dean peered at Castiel from underneath his lashes then. “You know… you could find that out yourself.”
For all his previous bravado, Castiel’s throat promptly went dry. It took a couple of starts before he could successfully push the words out. “I would love that.”
Dean grinned, sunny and blinding. “Yeah?” He opened the door wider, taking a step back. “Why don’t you come on in and… we could put that theory to test right now?”
Feeling hypnotized, Castiel followed him inside, hung on every part of Dean, and the panties that were now slung from a finger instead of being hidden away. “Somehow, something tells me you’re going to surpass any expectations I could hope to muster.”
Dean threw his head back and chuckled, even as he looked surprised, as if Castiel had caught him off guard.
But a few minutes later, Castiel was entirely unsurprised to find out that he was very much correct with his statement. Though, he didn’t have the brainpower to ponder on it for long.