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Castiel sighed as Cubby tried to take off after a rabbit. While she was just being a Beagle, it was distracting Castiel from what he wanted to be doing right then. Technically, he was supposed to be focused on Cubby, but Cubby’s owners were well aware of Castiel’s arrangement with Sam Winchester. Castiel got to watch the end of the yoga class and drool over the instructor, Sam got to pet the dog after class, and Cubby got time in the park to play and sniff interesting things and get pet by someone who had been told once that he gave the best bellyrubs ever.
Fortunately, Castiel had a firm grip on the leash, and Cubby wasn’t able to break free. “Come here, Cubby. Sit.” Cubby obeyed, getting a treat and a quick skritch behind the ears, so Castiel returned his attention to the yoga class. Sam was just straightening up from the last pose, meaning his rear was no longer on display. That was disappointing, although now he could see Sam’s face, so it wasn’t a terrible loss. Those eyes were mesmerizing, even from this far out.
“You know, one of these days, you really need to ask him out,” one of the students informed him as she left class. “Not that any of us mind you staring, since we all know he doesn’t, but for your own happiness. It’s the first step to the two of you having your own dog.”
“It’s not me he’s interested in,” Castiel demurred. “It’s that I’m always here with a dog and all the owners are happy for me to let him pet them.”
“Whatever you say, but I suspect it’s you,” the woman persisted. “Good luck, he’s headed this way!”
Sam was, indeed, headed their way, hesitating as he didn’t want to interrupt Castiel’s conversation. He approached as the woman walked off. “Was Ruby giving you trouble about watching? I can talk to her…”
“No, she’s fine,” Castiel stammered. “Cubby, greet.” Cubby jumped to her feet, wagging so hard her entire body wriggled as Sam extended a hand for her to sniff. “Teasing me a little, but I can handle that.”
“What’s there to tease you about?” Sam looked down as Cubby started licking his face. “Hey, girl, you are a sweetie, aren’t you? I missed you last week! Where were you?”
“She had surgery and needed to recover,” Castiel explained. “Remember that growth she had? Her people took her in to have it evaluated. It was benign, but because it was right beside her eye they wanted to remove it right away anyway in case it grew enough to cause vision problems. It turned out to have more roots than expected, so she needed more recovery before she was ready to be out in the sunshine like this.”
“Oh, you poor sweetie.” Sam checked carefully to make sure the stitches were away from where he was petting Cubby. “You ducked the question, Castiel.”
“I did.” Castiel sat beside Sam and Cubby, looking around to make sure he didn’t see another rabbit. Even a rabbit was unlikely to distract this friendly dog from a person paying attention to her, but no sense not being careful, especially if it meant he could keep ducking the question.
“Cubby, will you tell Castiel he should answer the question? Please?” Cubby didn’t, instead flopping onto her side to ask for a belly rub. “Come on, I give the best belly rubs, you can’t do this one thing for me?”
He looked so betrayed that Castiel couldn’t help it as the laughter spilled out. He also didn’t deny Cubby’s request, giving her the belly rub she wanted. Just for that, Castiel decided he could take the embarrassment. “Ruby was telling me I should stop just staring at you and ask you out. That’s all.”
“Oh.” Sam joined Castiel’s laughter. “She meant well, I’m sure. Before class, she was telling me that I should ask you out so we could fall in love properly, move in, and get our own dog. Ruby means well, but she’s kind of… I don’t think she’s all that clear on the difference between shipping and real life, that’s all. You enjoying a nice view while you let Cubby or whatever other dog you’re walking explore the park a bit is not nearly the same as you having any real interest in me.”
“And you liking to pet the dogs I walk doesn’t mean you’re interested in me at all,” Castiel agreed. The surprised look on Sam’s face made Castiel rerun things. “Wait. Is your only reason for not asking me out that you think I’m only interested in looking at you?”
“Well, no, there’s also my incredibly bad luck with dating, my fear of rejection, the minor fact that you could do so much better than a yoga instructor who lives in his brother’s basement…” Sam shrugged and turned his attention back to Cubby. “Yeah. I figured you’d reject me and then you’d stop bringing the dogs around and I’d lose my five minutes with you after yoga class and getting to see good doggos like Cubby.”
“As I have not taken leave of my senses, I would never reject you. What’s wrong with living in your brother’s basement?” The others could be explained by Sam’s shaky self-esteem, which Castiel didn’t understand the source of but could at least understand was a thing. He did not see the problem with living with his brother, basement or otherwise. For that matter, he found it odd that Dean would banish Sam to the basement instead of just sharing the whole house, but perhaps that was Sam’s choice to feel like he had his own space.
“It’s… I’ve told you Dean kind of raised me. Technically, Dad did, and Bobby and Caleb and Pastor Jim all helped as much as they could, but on an everyday making sure I had food and clothes and did my homework and all that stuff, it was Dean. ‘Living in their mother’s basement’ is an expression for kids who never leave home or leave home to go to college and then come back, but since my mom’s dead, I adapted it.”
“Okay, but why is that a bad thing?” Castiel pushed. “What’s so wrong with continuing to live with family as an adult?”
“Most people can’t wait to get out of their parents’ house, be independent and live their own lives. It’s weird not to. A lot of people look down on kids who never leave home, because then they’re not really independent. Parents look forward to it too, kick out their kids and get to live their own lives on their own terms. Dean would never say it, and he may think it but never seriously, but the only way he’d ever want me out is if I wanted to go and I was going into a good situation like moving in with a boyfriend or he needed the space for kids of his own – and on that last one, he’d look at moving before letting me think I needed to leave.”
That sounded much more like the Dean Castiel had heard all about. “I think it’s a good idea to live with family. I would be living with mine if I had any family worth the name. Living alone sucks. It’s why I walk dogs – I can’t have one of my own, where I live, but walking dogs and visiting cats to make sure they have food and water and clean litter and playtime with another living being is a somewhat decent substitute.”
“Well, I have a potential solution to that,” Sam said, ducking his head. “Even if you don’t want to date me, you could come live with us. I’ve been trying to convince Dean to let me get a dog. He’s wavering a bit, and I think if I can provide a responsible dogsitter so he’s less likely to need to step up and do anything, he’ll give in. You’re not living alone, we get a dog, Dean will love having someone else around to big brother. Because believe me, he will.”
“…Perhaps we should start with a date first?” Castiel said when he managed to find his voice. “Once I take Cubby home, I’m done for the day, if you’re free we could go… get ice cream, or go to the library, or something? It’s a bit early for dinner.”
“Wait, what?”
“Then, when you pitch the idea to Dean, it’s a little less out of nowhere,” Castiel continued, ignoring the interruption, because if he let himself stop and think he’d realize all the things that made this a ridiculously hasty decision. Move in with a man he hadn’t spent more than five minutes with and never without his attention being distracted by a dog, with the intention of it being a commitment because they were getting a dog together? If he let himself think about it, he’d realize what a terrible idea it was. So… he just wouldn’t think.
“You’re seriously considering this,” Sam realized. “And… dating’s on the table? Really?”
“Yes, really.” Castiel thought about reaching out for Sam’s hand, but realized they were both engaged with a dog. “I thought you knew I was interested in you and were just humoring me to be nice about the rejection. Otherwise I’d have asked you out earlier.”
“Well.” Sam looked down at Cubby, who had gotten to her feet and was staring at something off in the distance. Castiel followed her gaze and saw the squirrel. “Maybe we’d better get her home? And then I can take you to meet Dean?”
“Sounds like a plan. Cubby, come.” Cubby looked away as Castiel snapped his fingers, tail wagging as she realized it was time to go.