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Dean entered the bunker a little after three in the afternoon carrying groceries and a new dvd. Ever since Cas had become human, Dean and Sam spent a lot of time trying to figure out what his favorites were. Favorites of everything. Since he’d fallen about three months ago, they’d found out his favorite color was green, his favorite smell was lavender and some type of cologne Dean had, and he loved piano music. They knew Cas loved burgers, but they were on a mission to find out what else he liked. So Dean went out on a food run and also picked up a movie to add to their collection, as finding out Cas’ favorite movie was also on the list.
As Dean set down his purchases, he heard a strange sound coming from down the hall. Making sure his gun was accessible, he slowly moved toward the sound. As he got closer, he realized the sound was definitely retching. He picked up his speed and stopped at the bathroom, the door open just a crack. He pushed it open the rest of the way and winced in sympathy at what he saw.
Cas was on his knees in front of the toilet, his coat and tie were draped against the bathtub and Sam was standing behind him with a wet washcloth, presumably ready and waiting for whenever Cas was done.
“What happened?” Dean asked, kneeling next to Cas and putting a hand on his back.
Cas leaned back, his forehead covered in sweat and the bags under his eyes more pronounced than usual.
Sam gave him the washcloth. “Uh, he ate something he shouldn’t have, I guess.” He said softly.
Cas wiped his mouth and slumped against the wall. “Seafood is off limits, Dean. Forever.” He grunted, putting a hand to his stomach and squeezing his eyes shut.
“Oh shit, it was the oysters, wasn’t it?” Dean said softly.
“You fed him oysters?” Sam scolded.
“He wanted to try the oysters, I didn’t think they would do this to him!” Dean defended.
“Can we stop saying oysters?” Cas groaned.
The brothers turned their attention back to Cas whose face was screwed up in pain.
“Shit, Cas, I’m sorry.” Dean said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Look, I’ll go get your pj’s and some water.” He turned his attention to his brother. “We should probably run back to the store and pick up some stuff, he’s gonna get dehydrated.”
Sam nodded and left the bathroom, presumably to run to the store.
“Okay, I’ll be right back, Cas. You’ll be okay for minute?”
Cas, his eyes still closed, gave a thumbs up and Dean straightened and ran to Cas’ room.
Cas’ room was possibly the most organized place Dean had ever seen. Even more organized than Sam’s room, and that was saying a lot. It hardly looked lived in, but that was in huge part due to the fact that Cas was rarely in his room. When he wasn’t on a hunt, he spent a lot of time in the living room watching different movies with Dean or in the study reading books with Sam. So there really wasn’t much room for him to make a mess. The only cleaning he really did in his room was make his bed. And they knew how messed up the bed would get due to the amount of nightmares he’d gotten since becoming human.
But that was another story.
Just as Dean grabbed a pair of sweatpants and an old band t shirt he’d given Cas, he heard vomiting again and ran back to the bathroom, grabbing the towel that had fallen to the floor and kneeling next to Cas again. He rubbed his back, something he remembered his mother doing for him when he got sick, and waited for the wave to be over. Cas coughed and spit the remains in the toilet. Dean flushed and then reached up and wiped his face for him, which Cas seemed content to let happen. He seemed strangely okay with being pampered, though food poisoning did have a way of draining a person of energy.
“Okay, come on, man.” Dean said, pulling him away from the toilet and helping him out of his clothes and into his pajamas. He unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders, avoiding the urge to stare at his shoulders. He slipped the t shirt over his head and then moved to the pants, unbuckling them and slipping them off his legs, once again making a point not to stare at his legs or think too much about what he was doing. He eased the sweatpants on and then helped him to his feet.
Cas was shaky and not at all in the mood to move, but he still allowed Dean to help him stand and walk slowly out of the bathroom and to the couch. Once Cas had been safely deposited on the couch, Dean draped a blanket over him and ran to the kitchen to grab a large bowl. He handed it to Cas and Cas gave him his signature head tilt.
“What’s this for?” He asked softly as he took the bowl from him
“In case you need to hurl again.” Dean replied, grabbing the new dvd and ripping off the plastic. “Good thing it’s movie night, huh? You would not be able to go do anything in your condition.”
Castiel hugged the bowl to himself and fell sideways until his head hit the arm rest. “I may not get much out of it.” He said.
Dean shrugged. “We can just watch it again.” He sat next to Cas, making sure he didn’t jostle him around too much. “You need anything?”
Castiel shook his head.
“Okay, well just let me know.” He grabbed the remote and started the movie.
Sam didn’t return until the movie was about halfway through. When he did, he saw the two men on the couch huddled together, Castiel clearly asleep, his head against Dean’s shoulder, and Dean nodding off. He set his things on the table and then stepped over to them.
“How’s he doing?” Sam asked softly.
Dean looked over at the slumbering non-angel. “Fine for now.” He whispered.
Sam nodded. “Well, whenever he wakes up we should give him the juice I bought. I also got soup and crackers, which should be easy on his stomach.”
“Did you get any pie?”
Sam deadpanned. “Considering this was a run to the store for Cas, I think you should know how incredibly self centered that sounded.” He sighed. “But, yes, I grabbed you some pie.”
“Ah, that’s my boy.” Dean praised.
Dean was never able to get any pie, however, because Cas chose that moment to jerk awake and just barely grab the bowl before throwing up again.
~.~.~
It was the worst 48 hours of Castiel’s life. He didn’t throw up the entire time, but he felt like something was eating him from the inside out and at some point he swore if he ever became an angel again he would smite every oyster on the planet. He spent most of the time on the couch and Dean hardly left his side, ready to help whenever Cas needed anything.
By the end of the second day, it seemed like it was finally over.
Dean stood at the stove, flipping pancakes and whistling, when Castiel emerged from his room, his hair sticking up at odd angles and his shirt hanging off one shoulder. He definitely looked worse for wear.
Dean turned when he heard footsteps. “Hey, welcome back!” He said with a smile.
Castiel slumped down at the table and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m never eating again.” He said, his voice rougher than usual.
“Aw, what am I supposed to do with all these pancakes?” Dean asked, putting the last two on a plate and turning off the burner.
“Feed them to Sam.” Castiel said, leaning forward and resting his head in one of his hands, turning to watch Dean place the pancakes on the table and proceed to pile a few on his plate. Castiel wrinkled his nose as Dean drowned the pancakes in syrup.
“Well,” Dean said around a mouthful of pancakes. “Glad to see you’re up and about, anyway. You sure you don’t want any?”
Castiel shook his head as he watched Dean eat. “I think the only thing I can stomach is probably juice.”
“You want me to get it for you?”
“I’ve got it.” Castiel reassured, standing and stepping over to the fridge. He poured himself a glass and then turned, watching Dean demolish his stack of pancakes. He hesitated. “Dean…” He said slowly.
Dean looked up, his eyebrows raised.
“Vomiting is…”
“Disgusting?”
Castiel nodded. “Yes.” He said. “And yet, despite that, you stayed with me the whole time.”
Dean’s cheeks went pink and he ducked his head down to continue eating. “You were sick, it’s what family does.”
Castiel smiled slightly. “Family?” He asked.
Dean cleared his throat. “Yeah, family.”
Cas moved back to the table and sat, taking a small sip of juice. “Well,” He said. “Thank you, then.”
“It’s no problem.” Dean mumbled, chancing a look at Cas and then looking away when he noticed Cas watching him.
Castiel smiled and moved over to sit in the chair next to Dean’s. He reached out and took Dean’s hand, rubbing it slightly with his thumb. “I mean it.” He said. “Thank you.”
Dean looked down at their hands and back up into his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
They heard Sam enter the room and Dean instantly took his hand back, going back to his food and pretending like nothing had happened.
“Cas, you’re up.” Sam said, smiling.
Castiel smiled back. “It seems I was meant to live another day at least.”
Dean kept his head down and tried to munch on his food, but he was suddenly hungry for something else entirely. And that something else was sitting less than a foot away from him.