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Working at a pharmacy wasn’t really a job Sam wanted, but the positions on campus didn’t pay enough. Sam’s scholarship takes care of his school and books, and with the loans and occasional check his brother sends him, Sam is able to afford his apartment. The only thing Sam has trouble paying for is the rent after he found a puppy behind the apartments.
Neither Sam nor his roommate Jessica could hazard a guess at what breed it is. The puppy was a skinny, brown, little thing when Sam found it, but a vet said with a careful diet, the puppy would be healthy in no time. Sam named her Maddi and took her home. He was so excited the first night he had her, he bought everything he thought she would need. He bought training pads, a small bed, rubber toys, plush toys, most anything in the dog aisle of Walmart. He bathed her and held her shivering body close to his as he fed her the canned milk the vet gave him.
Before long, Maddi gained weight and happily followed Sam around the apartment. She didn’t give him any trouble (except at night the first week Sam had her, when she would cry if he left her on her bed in the kitchen), but that didn’t matter to the landlord who told Sam he would either have to pay extra on the rent to keep her or find somewhere else to live.
The apartment Sam and Jess live in is the closest off-campus building they could afford, only four blocks away from the University. Jess offered to ask her dad for the money, but Sam couldn’t do that to her. It was bad enough her dad reluctantly trusted Sam living with his daughter, despite Sam and Jess’ platonic relationship. Sam wasn’t about to ask for the man’s money on top of that. Sam considered moving out until Jess asked the local pharmacy if they were hiring and picked up an application for Sam.
Sam didn’t like the thought of working as a cashier, but seeing Maddi asleep on his lap, Sam knew he had to take what he could get.
Sam is surprised to discover he actually likes working the cash register at the pharmacy. He likes seeing new faces and the occasional regular. It’s fun for him to make small talk with people about the little things they buy or how their days are. He’s honestly interested in the little things they say, and he loves telling the older women who come by about the classes he takes at the University. He gets an employee discount, and he keeps up with all the coupons and the store’s deals so he always has money left over to spend on Maddi, even after buying for the apartment.
There are downsides to working at the pharmacy, of course. Sam barely works half-time, and his feet tingle unpleasantly when he gets off. He leaves the pharmacy feeling sweaty and he’s uncomfortable at the beginning of his night class. There’s the occasional rude customer, but the worst is a man who comes in every week and messes up the store.
From what Sam has heard, the man’s name is Dr. Castiel. A lot of the older women who ask Sam about school fawn over Castiel and ask him about his family. Sam doesn’t know what kind of doctor Castiel is, but from what Sam can tell, Castiel is the kind of doctor with a superiority-complex who can’t bother to return things to where they belong.
Every week, Castiel comes in, picks up a basket, and haphazardly moves through the aisles. He’s always poking at what little produce the pharmacy stocks, picking up alfalfa and squash and lettuce and halfway through his visit, he puts one or all of the vegetables back on the shelf, no matter what aisle he’s in. On a slow day, Sam has followed Castiel around with his own basket, picking up all the items Castiel deemed unworthy of his purchase as he walked through the pharmacy. Sam followed Castiel until the other man’s phone rang and Castiel dumped his basket back at the entrance of the pharmacy. Not only did Sam have to restock the items in his basket, he had to take what was left in Castiel’s basket and restock that too. Sam knows it’s part of the job to pick up after customers, but it doesn’t mean he has to like it when Castiel does it.
Sam has heard the same thing from Jess and one of his coworkers, Meg: “Why does it bother you so much?”
Sam always tells them he can’t explain or he’s tired, just so he doesn’t have to admit the real reason. The thing is, despite how douche-y Castiel acts, the man is kind of ridiculously gorgeous. Yeah, he’s shorter than Sam, but that’s not unusual. What is unusual is the way Castiel’s blue eyes seem to glow in the fluorescent lights of the pharmacy. Sam has seen the man dressed in everything from a rumpled suit and tan overcoat to a hoodie and sweatpants, yet nothing detracts from the form of Castiel’s body that Sam can make out through his clothes. Not to mention how much Sam hates himself for being attracted to Castiel’s voice, of all things. Sam would think a prick like Dr. Castiel would turn Sam off of all men, but the contradiction between his annoyance with and attraction to Castiel constantly plagues Sam’s mind during his shifts.
If Sam is unlucky enough to be at the register when Castiel checks out, Sam’s conversations are never as enthusiastic as they are with other patrons. Castiel brings his own bags, and Sam would appreciate the environmental benefits if the bags weren’t stuffed in one another and required more effort on Sam’s part than using the plastic bags of the pharmacy. More often than not, Castiel is distracted on the phone as Sam rings him up.
"Yes," he says into his phone, not looking up from idly flipping through a tabloid on the counter. "Have you tried moving her to a different room? I see."
Castiel’s voice is gruff and if Sam were a stronger man, he would focus on his work instead of Castiel’s words. Sam doesn’t know who Castiel talks to, but it’s always a phone call that marks the end of Castiel’s shopping. Sam doesn’t ask for much from the customers, but the least Castiel could do is put his phone away and give Sam a modicum of attention.
"Your total is $32.83, sir," Sam says.
Castiel nods and swipes his card through the reader.
"Would you be interested in applying for our member’s discount?" Sam asks, keeping his voice chipper.
He’s required to ask every customer, and usually he wouldn’t if he noticed the customer is on the phone, but he’s petty enough to enjoy interrupting Castiel.
Castiel shakes his head and signs the receipt Sam slides across the counter. Castiel wedges his phone in between his head and his shoulder when he takes his bags from Sam and offers Sam a quick, tight smile.
"Enjoy your day!" Sam says, rolling his eyes at Castiel’s retreating back.
At home, comfortably sprawled on his bed as he reads through his homework assignment, Maddi sleeping in the small of his back, Sam believes Maddi is worth having to deal with Castiel.
"Even if he spends too much money when there’s a perfectly good grocery store across town," he tells Maddi.
Sam rolls over and pulls Maddi to his chest. The puppy huffs at being moved, but she pushes her face in the warmth of Sam’s neck.
"He could at least sign up for the discount card," Sam says. "It doesn’t even cost anything."
"Are you making your dog shop at your pharmacy?" Jess asks from the doorway of Sam’s bedroom.
"No," Sam laughs. "Just complaining about that doctor that always comes into the store."
Jess takes Sam’s books and places them on the floor. Sam makes room for Jess on the bed. She lies out beside him and scratches Maddi behind the ears. The puppy’s tail wags and she jumps up to bite playfully at Jess’ fingers.
"Seriously, Sam, what do you have against the guy?" Jess asks. "When I saw him, he seemed nice."
"Jess, you don’t know the Hell this guy puts me through, okay?"
Jess indulges Sam’s usual tirade about Castiel, agreeing with Sam when applicable, but mostly, she coos over Maddi. Sam has talked enough about the negatives of Castiel that Jess has told him he should look into making it his thesis.
"It’s easier for both of us if he would just give me the stuff he doesn’t want to buy," Sam says.
Jess yawns, “I know, sweetie. I have to go to bed; I have a class at ten thirty and I was hoping to sleep in.”
"Okay," Sam says, "good night."
Sam takes Maddi and wraps them in his blanket. He kisses his puppy on her head and sleeps, imagining a world where Castiel wasn’t such inconsiderate shopper. Maybe Sam would hazard asking him out.
Sam wakes up the next morning to Maddi whining and rain beating against his window. He sits up from bed and swears. The mat he laid out for Maddi the night before is messy and Maddi is scratching at his door. He gets up and stretches, checks his phone. He groans, seeing the time. He only has twenty minutes to get to class. He opens the door to let Maddi out and gets the used mat.
Jess is in the living room, curling her hair as she watches the morning news.
"I thought you had class today."
Sam grumbles, “I do. My alarm didn’t go off.”
Maddi dances around Sam's feet as he prepares her breakfast. He hurries to wash up and get dressed, leaving the bit of stubble on his face for next time. He scratches Maddi’s head and kisses Jess on the cheek before he leaves.
"I’ll put her in your room before I leave," Jess says.
"You’re the best!"
Sam puts on one of his brother’s old raincoats that fails to reach Sam’s wrists. He pushes his hair back and holds the coat over his head against the downpour. Sam runs to campus as fast as he can without stepping in a puddle. The rain doesn’t let up in the short walk, and he can’t afford to slow down. He makes it inside his building and gets a glare from the custodian standing in the hall with a mop.
"Sorry," he says sheepishly.
He’s late to class, and his professor refuses to let him in the room. He’d known the professor was strict before he signed up, but seeing his professor’s unrepentant shrug through the window on the classroom’s door fills Sam with embarrassment. He slides down the wall and tries listening through the door. When the class lets out, he stands up, avoiding the side-eyes from his peers. He catches his professor before the man can rush off to his office.
"Dr. McLeod, I’m so sorry for being—"
"I don’t want to hear it," the professor smiles. "It’s classroom policy to be seated before the hour when I lock the door. If you fail to comply with the policy, you receive a participation grade of zero for the day and I mark you absent. I’m sorry, Winchester, but those are the rules you promised to adhere to when you showed up the second day of class."
Sam nods, “I understand, but—”
"Classroom policy," Dr. McLeod says before continuing down the hall.
Sam nods again. He waits in an empty classroom before his next class but receives an email on his phone saying class has been cancelled. He packs his books, and walks back to the apartment. Seeing Maddi tearing at one of her stuffed animals lifts Sam’s spirits. He changes into dry clothes and makes himself lunch.
"There’s always next class, right, girl?"
His puppy jumps at his legs, begging for food. Sam is tempted, but he doesn’t want to ruin her diet, so he pulls out a rawhide bone from one of the cabinets in the kitchen and treats Maddi.
He naps on the couch with Maddi lying on his feet. His ringing phone startles him awake several hours later. Jess’ shoes are by the door and Maddi is no longer with him. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the caller ID, Meg. He yawns and answers.
"Hello?"
"Hey Winchester, you think you can cover for me?"
"Sure. Why, are you sick?"
"If it’ll get you to cover for me, yeah."
Sam’s class isn’t until one the next day, so he puts on his pharmacy uniform and says goodbye to his girls. Jess lets Sam borrow her car, but since the rain has let up and the pharmacy isn’t far from his apartment, Sam pulls on his raincoat.
He walks into the pharmacy and receives a greeting and grateful look from his coworker at the register, Sarah.
"Has it been busy?" he asks.
Sarah shrugs, “Not really, but you’d think there’d be less people because of the rain.”
As Sam walks to the back to clock in, he sees a familiar tan coat in the greeting card aisle. Sam sighs. Castiel never puts the cards back where they belong.
Sam walks over to the man and asks, “Did you need help with anything, sir?”
Castiel fumbles with the greeting cards in his hand, some of them falling underneath the display. He doesn’t bother to look up at Sam when he kneels down and says, “No, thank you.”
Sam will have to look under the display some other time. He leaves Castiel in the aisle and continues on to the back room.
"You’re a lifesaver," Sarah says when Sam takes his place behind the register.
"Why couldn’t Meg come?" Sam asks.
"Something about her American Lit professor?"
Sam wrinkles his nose. Anything after six involving Meg is cause for disgust.
Sam only saw three other people besides Castiel when he walked the pharmacy, so he spends his first fifteen minutes re-organizing the packs of gum on the counter. The rain falls harder outside and two of the customers buy umbrellas. He has three and half hours left, and to motivate himself, he thinks about Maddi waiting at home for him.
"Hello," Castiel says when he steps up to the counter.
He places his basket and reusable bags on the counter. Sam mentally rolls his eyes. How hard would it really be for Dr. Castiel to pull out the…birthday card, shoe polish, Rolaids, and canned green tea out of the basket? Sam has to actually pull the card out from the envelope to scan it.
Sam mutters to himself as he bags the items.
"Would you mind putting the shoe polish in a separate bag?" Castiel asks.
Yes, Sam would mind, but he complies.
"Your total is $14.52, sir."
Castiel scans his credit card. He clears his throat, “Um. I’m sorry about the cards earlier.”
Sam passes over the receipt and watches as Castiel signs “J. Castiel" on the line.
"I wouldn’t mind helping you retrieve what fell underneath the shelf," Castiel adds.
"That’s all right, sir,” Sam hears his voice bordering sarcastic.
"It’s not trouble, I don’t mind helping."
"I think you’ve helped enough," Sam mumbles.
Castiel frowns and tilts his head like a confused Maddi.
"I’m sorry?"
Sam catches himself from crossing his arms, but doesn’t stop himself from saying, “Look, you’re always coming in here and making a mess. You never put things back where they belong, you never unload your basket, and would it kill you to put the barcode out? Trust me, the last thing I need is your help.”
"I…" Castiel’s mouth gapes like a fish out of water. "I’m sorry."
Castiel takes his bags and leaves. Sam sees him tuck the bag with the birthday card in his coat before he runs through the rain. Sam feels a pang of guilt as he watches Castiel get soaked before he reaches his car. He doesn’t have the chance to immediately dwell on what he said before a new customer steps up to the counter to buy gummy worms and ibuprofen.
Sam’s last hours are slow, and he obsesses over what he said to Castiel. He would never go off like that on a customer, and Castiel is really one of the tamer inconsiderate customers, too. And there’s the whole half-crush Sam has on him. Sam blames it on the residual irritation he feels at the weather and his professor.
Eight minutes before ten, a group of dressed up students walks in, laughing and heading straight to the wine. Sam locks up and has no choice but to wait for the kids. He ID’s them, seeing the guy buying is barely 21, and shoots them a terse smile when they leave.
It’s a quarter to eleven by the time Sam has the register closed and his counter cleared. He clocks out and stretches his back. It’s no longer raining out, so Sam holds his coat underneath his arm. His feet don’t hurt as much as they do after one of Sam’s weekend shifts. Sam decides he won’t kill himself over being so rude to Castiel. Castiel goes to the pharmacy every week; the next time Sam sees him, Sam will apologize.
When he gets to his apartment, Jess has left a note for him on the fridge saying she’s staying the night at a friend’s and she fed and took out Maddi.
Sam calls to the apartment, “Here, Maddi!”
The puppy doesn’t immediately run from Sam’s room, so he calls again, “Come here, girl, Daddy’s home!”
Sam goes to his room and hears whimpering from Maddi. The wastebasket in his room is overturned and Maddi is lying on the dirty clothes in his closet. Sam’s heart sinks.
"No, no, girl," he mutters.
He kneels down to check Maddi. She tries licking his fingers, but she cries when he touches her stomach. Sam pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials Jess’ number.
"It’s okay," he tells Maddi softly. To the phone he says, "Come on, come on, pick up."
"Hello?" Jess laughs when she answers. "Sam?"
"Jess, I need to take Maddi to the vet."
Jess sobers up, “What’s wrong?”
"I dunno, I think she ate something from my trash can. She’s won’t move and she’s crying."
"I’ll be there as soon as I can," Jess says and hangs up.
"Come on, Mads," Sam whispers.
He pulls one of his shirts from underneath Maddi and wraps her up. It hurts him to hear her whine when he dislodges her. He shushes her, tries not to jostle her as he walks out of the apartment.
Jess drives up to the curb outside of the apartment and waits for Sam to get inside her car.
"I looked online, there’s a 24-hour vet near your pharmacy," Jess says.
"Okay." Sam clicks his seatbelt and softly says, "Okay."
Jess goes through the streets without stop signs and minds the speed limit. Maddi doesn’t get comfortable and neither does Sam.
Jess parks outside the clinic, and Sam flies out the car. Inside, there’s a single woman behind a counter. Sam tells the woman his fears about Maddi eating something from his trash. She assures him the vet will be out and instructs him to have a seat. Sam sits beside Jess in the small waiting area and rubs his eyes.
"She’s going to be okay," Jess says. She pushes Sam’s hair behind his ears. "Maddi is strong, remember? She’s resilient."
Maddi’s big brown eyes watch Sam. She hasn’t whined since Sam has sat down, but that doesn’t comfort Sam. Sam goes through what he might have thrown away in his wastebasket that Maddi could have eaten. Sam is berating himself when a shadow falls over him.
"Mr. Winchester?"
Sam looks up.
"Castiel?"
Sam stands up, holds Maddi. Sam swallows, clears his throat.
"Castiel, Dr. Castiel, please, please, can you help her?”
Sam feels his sinuses burn, tears prickling his eyes. Castiel nods, gently holds Sam’s arm and leads him to the back.
The next forty minutes pass in a blur, Sam explaining to Castiel what happened as the doctor nods and inspects Maddi. Sam has no idea how Maddi will react to a vet other than the first vet Sam took her to, Dr. Richardson, but Maddi’s tail wags weakly. Castiel asks if Maddi has vomited, and Sam says no.
Sam zones out as Castiel looks over Maddi. Sam wants to apologize for what he said at the pharmacy, but mostly he wants Maddi to be okay again. Sam tunes back in when he hears the word “fine.”
"She will be fine, Mr. Winchester," Castiel says. "It doesn’t appear she has eaten anything toxic, and I would guess she simply overate whatever she found in your trash."
"And she’ll be completely all right, right?"
Castiel hums, “She won’t bounce back as fast as you and I might be able to after a stomachache. Give her plenty of water and take extra care of her tonight. The next time you feed her, instead of her usual dog food, I suggest feeding her chicken broth with rice.”
Sam nods, “Thank you, Dr. Castiel.”
"She’s a beautiful puppy," Castiel says, petting down Maddi’s back.
"She is, isn’t she?" Sam smiles. He wipes his eyes.
Sam takes Maddi and follows Castiel where he leads Sam back to the waiting room to be instructed of the billing. When Sam tells Jess Maddi will be okay, Jess sighs in relief.
"You silly dog, scaring us like that," Jess says.
Sam hands Maddi over to Jess while he pays the small bill. Jess thanks the attendant and Castiel. Sam smiles at Maddi who is now sleeping in Jess’ arms.
He follows Jess to the car but before getting inside, he says, “I think I forgot my card, I’ll be right back.”
Castiel stands by the counter, talking to the attendant, when Sam walks back inside the office.
"Do you need anything else, Mr. Winchester?" Castiel asks.
Sam says, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for earlier today.”
Castiel looks away. He says, “Oh. That.”
"Yeah," Sam rubs the back of his neck. "I had no excuse to go off on you like that. And thank you for being so kind to Maddi."
Castiel frowns at that. He says, “I would never endanger an animal’s well-being because of how disrespectful its owner is.”
Sam deserves that, but it still hurts to hear. He rushes to say, “No, no. I would never think of you that way.”
Sam sighs, “I appreciate you helping my puppy, Dr. Castiel.”
Castiel nods, “It was no problem, Mr. Winchester.”
Sam gives Castiel a hopeful smile who returns it with one of his own.
"Did you get it?" Jess asks when Sam gets back in the car.
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Maddi wakes Sam up in the middle of the night by licking his face. She jumps on his back and attacks his hair when he rolls over.
"Feeling better girl?" he asks.
The apartment doesn’t have more than a cup of rice left, and there’s a can of chicken broth left over from the last time Jess had a cold. Sam makes note to buy more of each and cooks up a meal for Maddi. She tears at her bed in the kitchen and chews on one of Sam’s socks.
Sam winds up falling asleep after he feeds Maddi and doesn’t wake up again until Jess is sneaking out of the apartment to get to class. Sam gets up and walks past the kitchen to check up on Maddi. Her dish is empty and she’s asleep on her bed. She jumps up when Sam scratches at her stomach.
She takes the sock with her when she follows Sam into his room and into the bathroom. He showers, pulling back the curtain every so often to make sure Maddi isn’t getting into the restroom’s trash. She wags her tail every time he looks out.
Sam leaves her in the restroom, putting the trash can in the bath tub, and laying out a mat for her. He promises Maddi he’ll return as soon as he can and leaves a few squeaky toys in the room with her. He goes to the pharmacy with a short list of soup and rice for Maddi and Jell-O for Jess.
He’s not surprised to see Castiel looking at the candy selection when he walks into the pharmacy.
"Hey, Dr. Castiel," Sam says shyly.
Castiel turns, and nods, “Hello, Mr. Winchester.”
Sam smiles and rolls his eyes, “You can call me Sam, Dr. Castiel.”
"Very well. You may call me James."
Sam tosses around the unfamiliar name in his head before deciding it just doesn’t fit Castiel.
He avoids any awkwardness by saying, “Did you get any sleep last night, Doc?”
Castiel looks down at the Toblerone bar in his hand and says, “I was just on my way home. It has been a long night.
"How many more animals did you see after Maddi?"
Castiel shakes his head, “Maddi was the only animal to stop by last night.”
"Oh," Sam feels guilty for interrupting Castiel’s otherwise-relaxed night.
"How is she?" Castiel asks.
Sam forgets his guilt and says, “She’s doing great this morning! I actually came in to buy rice and soup.”
"It’s nice of your girlfriend to accompany you last night.”
"Who, Jess?" Sam laughs, "Oh, no, she’s not my girlfriend. Just my roommate."
Sam is accustomed to people misinterpreting his and Jess’ relationship, and he doesn’t normally correct anybody (besides Jess’ parents) when they assume he and Jess are dating. This time, however, he really wants Castiel to know there is nothing going on between himself and Jess.
"I’ll let you go, now," Sam says. "See you later, Doc."
"Yes," Castiel smiles. "Goodbye, Sam."
Sam watches Castiel go to the counter, stopping once or twice to touch something on the shelves. He doesn’t pick anything else up, buys his candy, and leaves.
"Did you have fun last night?" Sam asks Meg when he slides his soup cans across the counter.
"Please stop talking so loud," Meg groans.
"Well, you look good," Sam says.
"Don’t let Clarence hear you say that, he might get jealous," Meg smirks.
Sam hands over his money and discount cards, “Clarence?”
Meg raises one dark eyebrow slowly, “You know. Your doctor-boyfriend?”
Sam ducks his head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Meg scoffs, “I saw you and the angel canoodling in the candy.”
“‘Canoodling’…?”
Sam feels someone standing behind him. Meg passes Sam’s bags over the counter.
"Have a nice day, sir!" Meg cheers.
Sam begins walking away, but stops, “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.”
Sam reaches over the counter and pushes a button to lower the volume of the barcode scanner.
Meg’s eyes widen. “Thank you! That incessant beeping was killing me.”
It doesn’t take long for Maddi to regain her health, but it takes a while for Sam to trust her around trash cans. Castiel continues coming into the pharmacy and when Sam has the time, he teaches Castiel how to be a better customer.
"It’s not really a big deal, but it’s more considerate to take everything out of the basket and hand the empty basket over rather than leaving everything inside."
Castiel nods studiously.
"Meg is one of our shorter cashiers. She hates when people leave their stuff in the basket because she has to get on her toes to reach inside."
"I hadn’t realized how troublesome it is."
Sam laughs, “It’s okay, Cas.”
"Did you just call me ‘Cas’?"
"Sorry. James?"
Castiel’s nose scrunches adorably. He shakes his head, “I like ‘Cas.’”
Castiel eventually develops the habit of returning items he decides not to purchase. If Sam is on break when Castiel is in the store, the two spend time loitering by the magazines.
"How is Maddi?" Castiel asks.
Sam grins, “She’s great!”
A few people turn at his outburst, but Castiel smiles, “Good.”
Sam tells Castiel about Jess training Maddi not to get the trash and beg for people-food. Maddi has learned to ask how to go outside to use the restroom and has grown big enough to jump up on Sam’s bed without any help.
"I don’t know what I’m going to do during the holidays," Sam says. "Jess is staying with her parents, and I don’t think my brother will appreciate my puppy in his car."
"Where are you from?"
"Kansas, but we sort of grew up all over the place."
Castiel picks up a magazine and begins flipping. He says, “I wouldn’t mind watching her.”
"Really? That’d be great, Cas!"
Castiel puts the magazine back to its proper location, and Sam doesn’t think he’s ever been happier.
Back at the apartment, Jess playfully scolds Sam about his growing puppy. Maddi has taken to jumping on Jess’ lap whenever Jess sits down to watch TV.
"I’m starting to think she’s a Great Dane," Jess huffs out underneath the puppy.
Sam has been struggling to find a good time to tell Jess, so he makes the decision just to say it.
"Castiel offered to take Maddi in during the holidays," he says in a rush.
"Oh?"
Sam knows Jess’ tone. It’s the same “oh?” she asked with faux-innocence when Sam was introduced to her by their friend Brady the morning after Sam’s twentieth birthday, while he wore one of Brady’s shirts. It’s the “oh?” she asked when she and Sam took Maddi to the vet and Sam went on about how cute Maddi was. It’s her way of saying, “I see right through you Sam Winchester.”
Sam sits beside her and says, “Yep.”
Jess leans her head on Sam’s shoulders. It’s her way of saying, “I saw right through you Sam Winchester, and I love you anyway.”
Sam isn’t sure what happened between Castiel offering to watch Maddi and Sam’s next shift, but Castiel acts aloof when Sam sees him. Castiel barely acknowledges Sam greeting when he walks into the pharmacy. Sam’s workload doesn’t allow him to watch Castiel, but when he does glance up to look for Castiel in the store, he finds Castiel aligning products on the shelves.
There’s no one by the counter when Castiel walks up. He doesn’t have a basket and his hair appears to be more frazzled than usual.
"Hey, Cas. Need help with something?"
"No," Castiel shakes his head.
Castiel looks around at the impulse buys at the counter, the packs of breath mints and chocolate bars. Sam hears him muttering something about “stupid, nosy older brothers.” It’s the most distressed Sam has ever seen the doctor.
"Uhm, Cas…?"
Castiel sighs.
"Sam."
Sam waits patiently, but when Castiel doesn’t continue, Sam laughs a little, “Castiel?”
Castiel shake his head. He looks Sam straight in the eyes. Before Sam asks him if he’s all right, Castiel speaks.
"Sam. I was wondering if perhaps you might be interested in having dinner with me tonight."
The corner of Sam’s lips lift up. “You mean, like date?”
"Yes," Castiel says. "If you would like."
Sam notices Castiel’s hands straying on the counter to organize the discount card pamphlets on the counter. Sam doesn’t think he realizes what he’s doing.
Sam says, “I, uh. I have a class after this…”
Castiel pulls his hands off the counter and pushes them in his coat pockets.
"I understand. I apologize, I hope—"
“But I don’t have class on Friday and I get out of work at two.”
Castiel smiles quickly before he schools his face. “Then I shall pick you up at two.”
Sam thinks about how grimy he feels after work.
He asks, “Actually, how about picking me up at three from my house?”
"Three it is, then."
"You can see Maddi!"
"I would like that," Castiel beams.
Sam takes a pen from under the counter and a pamphlet and writes down his address. Castiel takes it from his hand and reads it over. He folds the paper over and pockets it. Castiel turns to walk away, giving Sam a little wave. Sam doesn’t see anyone paying attention to the front of the pharmacy.
He says, “Oh, wait, Cas, one more thing.”
Sam tip toes and reaches across the counter for Castiel’s lapel. He pushes forward and pulls Castiel in. He stops his face a short breadth away from Castiel. He touches his nose against Castiel’s until he sees Castiel’s eyes close. Sam takes in the antiseptic and cinnamon smell of Castiel. He schools his lips from their smile to press against Castiel. He feels Castiel push against him, Castiel’s hand rest against his shoulder.
He gets lost in the rough texture of Castiel’s face, the occasional sweep of Castiel’s tongue against his lips, that it surprises him to hear Sarah hiss, “Sam, the boss might see you.”
He sets his feet flat, letting go of Castiel’s shirt and slowly moving back. Castiel clears his throat, takes his own hand back, and looks around. Sam hadn’t noticed Sarah taking over the register or the line of customers growing in front of her.
"I’ll see you Friday," Castiel breathes.
"Enjoy your day, Doc," Sam says.
After work, Sam goes home, lays out an outfit for Friday, and spends his evening playing with Maddi, telling her about his favorite customer.