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Dean glanced up from where he was drying the dishes as he heard footsteps out in the corridor. He gave Sam a look and saw that he agreed that it had to be Castiel. Sure enough the former angel appeared in the doorway, a duffle bag in his hand as he peered into the kitchen.
“Hey,” Sam said, giving him a wave of greeting from where he was washing the dishes.
“Hello Sam,” Castiel said, eyes turning to Dean. “Dean.”
“Hey Cas,” Dean said, finishing drying the dish he had in his hand. “Welcome back.”
“How was Claire?” Sam asked.
“She’s well,” Castiel confirmed, setting the duffle bag on the floor. “I trust things are well here.”
“Took care of a vamp nest,” Dean said, frowning as he saw something catch in the light. “Was easy enough. They were fairly new I think.”
“They definitely didn’t know how to fight,” Sam confirmed.
“So they were no issue for you,” Castiel said.
Dean set the cloth down and approached Castiel as he saw the glint again. He squinted, and as he got close enough he realized what it was. “What the fuck is that?”
Castiel looked at him, thinking for a moment before reaching a hand up to touch his ear. “Oh, a eh… gift from Claire.”
“Dude, you let her pierce your ear?” Dean said.
“What? Really?” Sam came over toward them, drying his hands on another dish cloth. “Wow.”
“Why?” Dean asked. He felt a mix of emotions coursing through him as he tried to process the little gold stud in Castiel’s ear. “Dude, she pierced your right ear.”
“I am aware,” Castiel said.
Sam frowned. “Doesn’t that mean…”
“Yeah,” Dean said. “It means you’re gay, Cas.”
“Well I’m technically not a heterosexual,” Castiel said simply.
“But you don’t need to broadcast it,” Dean said. “Anyway, you’ve been with girls.”
“Well I’m technically not homosexual either,” Castiel said.
“Doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to get both ears pierced,” Sam said.
“Not helping,” Dean said. He ran a hand over his face as his brain tried to catch up with what he was seeing. “Cas. My room. Now.”
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to get out of the dishes. Again,” Sam protested.
“I’ll take care of them when we get back,” Dean promised. And he meant it. He knew that he’d been shirking his duties a lot lately and Sam had been picking up the slack. He had no intention of doing it again. “Just leave them for me.”
“By the time you remember they’ll be mouldy,” Sam said, his trademark bitchface firmly in place.
“I promise,” Dean said, reaching out and grabbing Castiel by the arm and dragging him from the room.
“Heard that before,” Sam called after them.
Dean practically dragged Castiel through the bunker, the former angel protesting a little but otherwise letting Dean lead him. When they reached Dean’s room he pushed the other man in front of him, then stepped inside and closed the door. He rounded on Castiel, fixing him with a firm glare that made the other man squirm.
“Why the hell did you let her do it?” Dean asked.
“I fail to see what is wrong with it,” Castiel said. “Plenty of people have piercings.”
“That doesn’t mean you should,” Dean protested.
“The alternative was my nose,” Castiel said, scrunching up the spot in question. “I passed.”
“Or you could have just not got a piercing at all,” Dean said.
Castiel sighed, looking at him. “I take it this means you want me to remove it.”
“Yeah,” Dean said. It was an obvious answer. There was no way in hell he was going anywhere with Castiel with his ear like that.
“I did tell her this was how you’d react,” Castiel said. “She agreed.”
Dean frowned. “Wait, this isn’t a prank of something is it? You’re not filming my reaction or something are you?”
“No, I’m not,” Castiel said. “And yes, it is really pierced.”
“So just… take it out,” Dean said. “Or better yet…”
Dean stepped forward, reaching up to Castiel’s ear and fumbling for a moment. He found the catch and pulled it free, removing the earring from Castiel’s ear. He frowned as he stared at the hole, the edges looking red and sore. “Is it infected or something?”
“I don’t believe so,” Castiel said, touching his ear. “She did it just before I left.”
“Well,” Dean said, sighing. “At least it’s not something permanent.”
A look of guilt flashed over Castiel’s face that gave Dean pause. He stared at him, trying to read his expression and realising that Claire had definitely done something else.
“What the fuck have you done?” Dean asked, warning in his voice.
“Again, it was Claire’s idea.” Castiel said. “We went together.”
“What have you let her talk you into?” Dean asked.
Castiel stared at him a moment before he pulled off his trench coat and tossed it over the back of Dean’s desk chair, then reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. Normally Dean would feel excited at the sight of this but right now all he could feel was dread, worrying just what Claire had talked Castiel into doing.
Castiel finished unbuttoning his shirt, Dean looking over his chest and spotting nothing new. The tattoo on Castiel’s hip was unchanged, as was the anti-possession tattoo he’d gotten when he’d first became human after returning from the Empty. He paused for a moment before turning, removing his shirt from his shoulders.
Dean sucked in a breath as he saw it. It spanned shoulder to shoulder, the tips coming down Castiel’s arms. Big, dark coloured wings. They were intricately detailed with just the hint of rainbow colours to them but they were mostly dark. The tattoo definitely didn’t look as fresh as the ear piercing had been but it was still new enough that the skin was still tinged red.
Stepping forward Dean reached out, touching his fingertips to the flesh. He traced the lines of the wings and had to admit that the artwork was impressive. Whoever had done it was definitely not a novice. It had to have taken hours to do the whole tattoo. Dean could just picture it – a shirtless Castiel face down on a tattoo table while the artists did his or her work.
“You’re not mad, are you?” Castiel asked, breaking the silence.
Dean knew he should be. They had promised that they would make big decisions together, and this definitely was a big decision in Dean’s book. He sighed, trying to work out exactly how he felt about it. “I don’t know.”
He saw Castiel tilt his head, then look back. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m pissed you did it without asking me,” Dean said, his eyes fixated on the wings. The feathers were so detailed he was sure he could just reach out and pluck one off but his fingers could only find skin when he tried. “But they are beautiful.”
“Still not the real thing,” Castiel said sadly.
“No,” Dean agreed. He traced the lines with his fingers, feeling Castiel’s muscles twitch beneath his touch. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Castiel asked.
“For you losing your grace,” Dean said.
“I chose to give it up,” Castiel reminded him. “It was my decision to become human.”
“But you shouldn’t have had to,” Dean said. “It was my fault the Empty took you.”
“Dean, we’ve been over this,” Castiel said. “I made the deal with the Empty. It was only a matter of time before it did.”
“But it was my fault it came when it did,” Dean said. “I made the call to go after Billie.”
“Dean, stop,” Castiel said. “Blaming yourself won’t change things.”
Dean sighed. He knew that Castiel was right but that still didn’t change things. It was his fault that things had happened the way they had. He was just lucky that they had convinced Jack to bring Castiel back. Boy Dean missed that kid. He still dropped in from time-to-time but it wasn’t the same. And then Castiel had told Jack to remove his grace so he could grow old with Dean. Yeap, Dean definitely blamed himself for that one.
Leaning forward Dean pressed a kiss to the centre of Castiel’s tattooed wings, sliding his arms around Castiel’s waist. He might not like that Castiel had done things without telling him but there was no changing it now. And he did like the wings. They were perfect.
“Dean…” Castiel said softly.
“Let’s go to bed,” Dean said. “I just want to… hold you right now.”
“What about the dishes?” Castiel asked.
“They can wait until morning,” Dean said.
“You realise Sam will have done them by then,” Castiel said.
“I told him I’d do them,” Dean said. “I really do intend to do them.”
“Hm.”
Castiel stepped forward and out of Dean’s arms, then turned to face him. He reached up to gently take Dean’s face in his hands. Dean stared into those endless blue eyes as Castiel’s thumbs stroked his cheeks. Dean gave him a soft smile that Castiel was happy to return. Then Castiel leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips.
“Okay,” Castiel said. “We’ll go to bed.”
“And you’re not putting that earring back in,” Dean said.
“No,” Castiel agreed. “Although I did like it.”
Dean stared at him. “Seriously?”
“I thought it made me look more roguish,” Castiel admitted.
“Dude, it just made you look gay,” Dean said.
Castiel shrugged it off and kissed him again.
END