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Every Thursday, when Castiel’s schedule is free and he knows he’ll have an episode of Dr. Sexy waiting for him at home, he visits the gym. Anna gave him a certificate for his birthday, promising to work out with him, but not long after, she and her fiancé, Balthazar, announced she was pregnant and began focusing on preparing for the baby. She continued meeting up with Castiel at the gym, but when she began to wobble as she walked into the gym, Castiel gave her permission to postpone their standing date.
“I’m sorry, Cassie,” she said, hugging her slight stomach. “I swear I’ll come back with you after the baby is born.”
“Take as much time as you need,” Castiel said.
Castiel continues working out on his own, a rotating routine of using an elliptical and bike, occasionally using a pulldown machine while he waits for either an elliptical or bike to be free. He sort of misses the Zumba class he took when Anna was with him, but it wasn’t as fun or entertaining without Anna beside him, stopping every so often to pant and complain about the high-intensity. Not to mention how awkward he felt now, receiving leers from some of the women who noticed Anna wasn’t with him.
There are a few people at the gym he comes to recognize after some time. There’s the petite white woman with red hair who uses the treadmill while she sings along to pop music from the eighties. She smiles at Castiel, waves to him while continuing to sing under her breath. There’s the black couple who are trying to lose weight for their vow renewal. Anna used to commiserate with the woman about the cost of local reception venues.
Castiel feels more comfortable around the lax and overweight patrons than the women with toned thighs and the men who look like they regularly eat vitamin supplements as snacks. Then there are the chipper trainers who ask Castiel if he needs help.
There is one toned man, however, Castiel can’t help but seek out. The man comes in every other Thursday, and while he wears loose-fitting V-neck shirts, the sleeves stretch around his triceps and pectorals. Castiel is impressed with the tall man with the shoulder-length hair and his ability to seamlessly and effortlessly make his way from lifting weights to running.
Castiel is not unaccustomed to exercise, by any means. He and his siblings were given the opportunity to take fencing and karate classes in their youth. He’d done track in middle school and cross country in high school. In college, he took a yoga class. He had been hoping to take Pilates at the gym, but it was a different certificate type, and he didn’t want Anna to think he was ungrateful. Plus, the class held the same time as America’s Next Top Model. Castiel is serious about his TV schedule.
On one particular Thursday, when Castiel feels ambitious, he decides to follow along with the tall man’s routine. He waves to Pop Girl, who gives him a hearty wave in return, hips moving along to a rhythm Castiel can barely hear coming out of her earbuds. He waits with the married couple at the juice bar. As they tell Castiel the details of their centerpieces, Castiel sees the tall man walk in. He excuses himself, congratulating the woman on losing three pounds to the man’s two that month.
The tall man doesn’t pay Castiel any mind as he walks over to the weights and stretches in front of the full-wall mirror. Castiel lags behind, standing by an older woman who narrows her eyes at him. He apologizes for his proximity. Once they’ve warmed up, the man picks up two barbells and begins lifting. Castiel gets nearer, attempts to lift the same amount as the tall man, but can’t. Undeterred, Castiel goes down the line until he finds the weight he can comfortably pick up and attempts to catch up. When the man moves on, Castiel is grateful.
Castiel follows the tall man to the treadmills then, all the while stretching his sore fingers and wishing there was less gravity weighing down his arms. Castiel takes a free treadmill five machines over from the tall man and guesses how slow to key in the setting. The man walks and then jogs at a pace that has Castiel at ease. Castiel is proud for at least being able to keep the pace this time around. It’s finally as the tall man starts running does Castiel begin to worry.
It isn’t how fast he’s running–Castiel feels he’s trained enough in his lifetime to be able to keep up with the man–but when the man continues running longer than the amount of time Castiel truly believes he has the ability to run, Castiel realizes he isn’t as fit as he was when he was seventeen. He slows down and eventually stops, in awe at that the man continues to run without looking strained.
Castiel does a few cool down stretches, legs wobbly in a way he can’t ever remember them being in his lifetime. He stumbles into a shower, somehow, content to let the warm water wash over him without so much as budging from his spot directly underneath the spray. After the shower, he sits on the bench in the locker room, trying to ignore his burning muscles.
He remains sitting there, in pain, until the tall man walks in.
“How do you do it?” Castiel asks.
The man looks around, pushing his sweaty hair behind his ears and pulling out earphones.
“Uhm, excuse me?”
“I’m sorry,” Castiel says. “I couldn’t help but notice how fit you are. And I tried to keep up with your routine but now I can’t move my legs, and I don’t know how I’ll get to my car without my knees locking. So I would like to know, how do you manage to keep up your regimen?”
The man laughs, “Dad was a Marine. He trained me and my brother to be self-reliant when we were kids. Honestly, I kind of enjoy working out.”
Dubious, Castiel narrows his eyes, asks, “You don’t drink only protein shakes and eat dietary supplements do you?”
“Powders aren’t really my thing, but I try to eat healthy?” the man offers.
Castiel nods, still wary of how anyone with the strength of the tall man could avoid vitamin products. Even the couple Castiel has talked to has testified adding it to their diet has helped them a lot.
The man says, “You know, if you’d like, I wouldn’t mind helping you enhance your workout.”
While Castiel considers it, the man continues, “My workout partner doesn’t come with me on Thursdays, and I’m not a professional trainer, so I wouldn’t charge you. And I understand how intimidating they can be.”
Castiel’s arms protest when he holds his hand out to the tall man.
"I would appreciate that, thank you. My name is Castiel.”
The man’s handshake is sturdy, but his smile is demure. He says, “Sam Winchester.”
----
Castiel doesn’t fully understand what drew him to Sam in particular, but it doesn’t take long for their friendship to grow. Sam is always gentle in reminding Castiel to pace himself when lifting weights, and he explains to Castiel the advantages of some exercises and how they don’t strain the muscles as much as some of the machines at the gym.
Castiel is surprised he has something to teach Sam in turn. He shows Sam some Pilate moves to better make use of his diaphragm. Sam adapts quickly, but admits he knows a little yoga because of an old friend. This starts them into discussing how long Castiel has practiced yoga and how Sam had a girlfriend in college who ran everyday around campus with him. They commiserate over hating the sports they were forced to participate in when they were children.
“Every one of my older brothers took karate, too, so I was never able to flip them,” Castiel grumbles.
“I absolutely hated playing baseball, but my brother Dean made fun of me for playing soccer because it’s ‘an un-American sport, Sammy!’”
From there they begin talking about their families, Sam admitting his big brother Dean has always been a sort of idol to him, even when Sam’s physicality surpassed his brother’s.
“I’m sure he can still kick my ass, though.”
Castiel tells Sam about his sister Anna, his closest sibling, and his unborn niece.
“She had me paint the baby’s room yellow, and when she discovered there was paint with glitter in it, she demanded I paint the room with a can of that as well.”
They become as recognizable a pair in the gym as the married couple and Pop Lady (“Charlie,” Sam informs Castiel. “She comes here every day to train for LARP-ing.”) are to Castiel. Castiel even learns about Sam’s history with one of the attractive, brunette trainers, Ruby.
“She and I, uh, used to be together, kind of. She was just trying to get me to work for the gym.”
Sam tells Castiel he only visits every other Thursday since he tends to come in on a different day with his workout partner, his brother Dean.
Sam’s breath is steady as he runs and explains, “He’s sort of flaky with workout schedules, but he never misses a new episode of Dr. Sexy.”
Castiel would want to defend himself if he wasn’t trying to impress Sam by not drawing attention his own lack of breath.
At Sam’s suggestion, they switch up their routine every so often. They use the elliptical, the pulldown machines, and, with some gentle goading from Sam, they play racquetball. They’re both surprised by how intense Castiel gets when playing. His focus is impenetrable and he doesn’t take too kind to Sam’s trash talk. Castiel would be suspicious of his ability to beat Sam as often as he does if it weren’t for how genuinely exhausted Sam looks after their games.
“We should play tennis as well,” Castiel says as they’re changing in the locker room.
As Castiel programs his number in Sam’s phone, he starts when he notices the tattoo on Sam’s chest.
“You have a tattoo,” he says, rather stupidly, he realizes after.
Sam looks down at himself and shrugs on his shirt quickly.
“Dean and I got the same design. It was before I went to grad school and Dean was worried I’d never have free time for him again.”
“Do you have any other tattoos?” Castiel asks.
Sam smiles, shakes his head, “No, actually it’s the only one. Inebriation will do that to you, I suppose.”
Castiel thinks about the day he first started talking to Sam and how he hadn’t bothered noticing Sam’s bare chest, and even now, how he’d ever failed to acknowledge the peak of black flames sticking out from the collar of Sam’s shirt.
“What about you, Cass?” Sam smirks as he pulls on a button-down flannel and towels his hair. “You got any tattoos where I can’t see?”
Castiel hides his smile as he continues to put his information in Sam’s phone.
The two begin texting pretty frequently afterwards, not just to set up a time to play tennis at Castiel’s apartments, but to discuss their days.
“Who has you so focused you can’t help deciding the name for your future Goddaughter, Cassie?” Balthazar asks one night when Castiel is over for dinner.
Castiel looks up from where he was replying to Sam’s grievances about a client who refuses to be honest with Sam and has been caught lying about her case again.
“He’s probably talking to Sam, his friend from the gym,” Anna says. “They always text on the weeks when they don’t see each other. Or whenever Sam is stuck watching Dr. Sexy with his brother and Cass has to explain everything to him.
“I didn’t know that show was on that often,” Balthazar mutters.
“I think it’s nice Cass has a friend outside of work. Uriel is mean and Naomi sounds like a real hardass.”
Castiel sends off a response to Sam and quickly tucks his phone away.
He picks up his fork from where he’d abandoned it after he felt his phone vibrate against his thigh and says, “Uriel is really funny once you get to know him and Naomi is just doing her job. I think Rachel is a fine name for my niece.”
After dinner, while Balthazar washes dishes and Castiel and Anna drink virgin White Russians, Castiel gets another text from Sam.
“Sam would like to know if we could play doubles tomorrow with him and his brother Dean,” Cass says.
Anna glances at her stomach where her glass of cream is resting.
“Maybe Balthazar can go with you in my place.”
The next day finds Castiel and Balthazar practicing as they wait for Dean and Sam to arrive to Castiel’s apartment. Seeing Balthazar’s lackadaisical approach to the sport brings out Castiel’s competitiveness.
“Typical little brother syndrome!” Balthazar yells as he runs out to get the ball he managed to hit behind him and over the fence.
Castiel focus is drawn to the black, classic muscle car pulling up to the lot just outside of the courts. Castiel recognizes the car as belonging to Dean, who rides in the driver’s seat. Once the car is stopped, the Winchester brothers step out in unison. Castiel is more than accustomed to seeing Sam dressed in active wear, but has only ever seen Dean outside of the gym. Castiel stifles a laugh at the look of Dean, a man he’s come to know as being hyper masculine, in a pair of fluorescent green basketball shorts with the bottom ending well above the knee.
It doesn’t seem to bother the man, who appears perfectly content to gripe with Sam about what sounds like Nosferatu, of all things, as they walk into the apartments’ tennis courts.
Castiel hears Dean say, “No! You can’t tell me Dracula is actually more important than Count Orlok! ”
“Except for the fact the entire movie was based on Dracula, right?” Sam responds.
“Now you’re just splitting hairs, Sammy,” Dean says, looking to Castiel and winking. “How’s it hanging, Cass?”
“Hello Dean. Hello Sam.”
Castiel waves to Balthazar, who remains outside the fence, pushing through an overgrown patch of grass, looking for the tennis ball.
“That is my future brother-in-law, Balthazar,” Castiel says. “I believe he is just delaying the inevitable.”
“You didn’t have to make Balthazar come,” Sam says. “It could have just been us three and we could’ve played king of the court.”
“Yeah, or you and Cass could’ve just played on your own,” Dean says, earning an elbow in his side from Sam.
Seeing the Winchester brothers together always brings inside Castiel a nostalgic reminiscence of his own older brothers. Oftentimes, when the Sam and Dean are involved in friendly bickering, Castiel will side with Dean, even if he doesn’t fully agree, just to see the passion in Sam that Castiel imagines he would be able to see if he ever had the chance visit Sam in court.
Balthazar returns, bouncing his ball lightly on his racquet.
He says, “If I could, gentlemen? If we’re talking about the importance of vampires in popular culture, I believe the most important vampire, in regards to recent times, would be Edward Cullen.”
Their conversation continues on for a while, Dean getting more heated with every point Balthazar makes and Sam conceding to Balthazar’s argument. The case of vampires dissolves not long after they begin playing tennis, but Castiel likes seeing his new friends interacting with his family famously.
They play two and a half matches, the last aborted match settled for the Winchesters’ win. Castiel offers the brothers his house to rest, but Dean says he has to go home to get ready for a date later that evening. Sam promises to text Castiel later if Castiel isn’t busy, and Sam and his brother take the short drive to drop Castiel outside his apartment door.
“I’ve got to be honest, after looking at Dean, I’m not only glad Anna didn’t come with you but that I have her locked down,” Balthazar says once they’re inside.
“That is my sister,” Castiel says flatly.
“Didn’t mean anything by it, love, but… You did see the man’s forehand, right?”
Castiel frowns, thinking about how Dean played. He was all right, Castiel supposed, better than Sam, in fact. But Castiel hadn’t been paying attention to the older Winchester much. He had noticed the “little brother syndrome” in Sam that wasn’t apparent when it was only Castiel and Sam playing. Sam was quick to cover Dean’s back if Dean missed the ball, and even when Balthazar succeeded in distracting Dean with a tale of one of his drunken escapades while backpacking through South America, Sam caught Castiel’s eyes and the two of them continued playing after Dean stepped aside to laugh.
“I hadn’t noticed,” Castiel says.
“I know,” Balthazar leers.
After Balthazar leaves for the evening, Castiel considers how he reacts to Sam versus how he reacts to other people. At work that week, someone comes in to discuss with the office the importance of devotion to the brand name, but Castiel only listens halfheartedly. At the gym on Thursday, Castiel listens intently as Sam talks about the advice he found in the Men’s Health magazine compared to what he found in Women’s Health. It’s then Castiel has to admit to himself perhaps he should review his relationship with Sam.
----
When Anna gives birth, Sam sends balloons and a pastel yellow teddy bear to the hospital, and when he sees Castiel next, he pulls Castiel into a hug, congratulating him on his new Goddaughter. Castiel revels in Sam’s warmth, surprised by how comfortable he feels against Sam’s muscles.
“The mother and baby are doing fine,” Castiel says, begrudgingly moving away from Sam.
“We should go out to celebrate!” Sam says. He smiles sheepishly, “Oh, sorry, I forgot, there’s a new episode on. Dean’s always telling me–”
“We should,” Castiel interrupts. “I can watch it online later. What’d you have in mind?”
Sam’s responding smile as he makes plans is almost enough for Castiel to forget about the spoilers he has to ignore when he goes online at work Friday morning.
Castiel faces an unfamiliar dilemma. Surely the amount of time he spends with Sam outside of the gym constitutes taking advantage. He can’t remember the last time he had an adult friend like Sam, but even then, he doesn’t think he would go out with his other friends as often as he does with Sam. Despite the amount of exercise Castiel and Sam do together, the two of them go out to eat a lot. And when Sam invites Castiel along to watch a movie, Sam orders them a ton of junk food. Castiel wants to ask Anna for her advice, but her previously fresh demeanor has become haggard from the baby.
“You should see Balthazar,” Castiel says one evening when he and Sam eat at a Thai restaurant Dean recommended. “Anna has implemented a ‘no drinking’ policy for as long as she’ll be giving Rachel breast milk. She said she could overlook his alcohol if it was only about him maintaining the household, but now that they have the baby to take care of, she doesn’t find it responsible parenting.”
Sam laughs and shakes his head, bringing a visceral smile to Castiel’s face. A reaction Castiel noticed during his analysis of how he treats Sam. He squirms in his seat.
“I can’t imagine taking care of a kid with my workload,” Sam says. “What about you, Cass? Do you want kids?”
“I don’t know,” Castiel says. He taps his finger against his fork. “I’ve never fully considered it… Children aren’t really something I’ve imagined myself having, but I don’t think I would mind. Ultimately, I’d be willing to let that decision rest with my partner.”
The answer has Sam smiling wider. He brings up his glass.
“To not having kids,” he says.
Castiel taps his glass against Sam’s and looks away as the latter drinks.
Castiel’s burgeoning adoration for Sam comes to a head when Castiel suggests the two of them try out Zumba together. The class wasn’t as daunting as Castiel remembers when he took it with Anna, which he contributes to the training he’s received from Sam. It drove Castiel and Sam to forgo any other exercises, however, as the two were too winded. One good thing about the workout was its ability to distract Castiel from Sam’s seldom worn ponytail.
“I don’t think I’m cut out to be moving like that every week,” Castiel says.
Sam barks out a laugh, “Did you see Tamara and Isaac in there? Sorry to say, Cass, but I think we might be working out wrong if that was the best we could do.”
“They were unstoppable,” Castiel agrees.
“So you wanna come over tomorrow?” Sam asks, straightening up from where he kneeled on the floor to tie his shoes. “Dean’s gonna be cooking out.”
Castiel has only had the fortune to eat Dean’s famous hamburgers twice. Sam invited Castiel to his house to watch The Exorcism, something Sam apologized for, saying Dean insisted since Castiel had never seen it. They ate their burgers outside, Citronella candles decorating Sam’s back porch, conversation continuing well into the night until it was too late for Castiel to stay any longer. They tried again the following week, at Castiel’s apartment, and although Castiel didn’t have a barbecue pit, Dean made do with the oven. His burgers still came out to be the best thing Castiel had ever eaten, and if Castiel hadn’t already committed himself to sitting comfortably beside Sam on the sofa, he might have promised to do anything for Dean just to have another.
Castiel sighs, “I would, but I’m afraid my brothers are coming down to see the baby. Michael is finally coming around to accept that Anna and Balthazar have had a child out of wedlock.”
“He’s missing out,” Sam says, packing his gym bag. “Rachel is the cutest baby in the world.”
Castiel smiles, “She is, isn’t she?”
Sam shoulders his bag and gives Castiel a quick hug before he leaves. They promise to make plans the next time they see each other, Castiel saying he’ll be busy on the weekend, acting as a buffer between his brothers and Anna and her new family.
Just as Castiel is about to leave the locker room, he sees a towel on the floor. He wouldn’t have picked it up if he hadn’t recognized the thin, red strips running along it as one of the towels Sam uses to wipe the gym equipment. Castiel grabs it and leaves the locker room with the intent to catch Sam before he leaves the building. He sees Sam waving goodbye to Charlie, but he doesn’t call out. Instead, he opens his bag and shoves the towel in.
He drives home with his gym bag on the passenger seat. No one was paying him any mind in the locker room, he convinces himself, and if anyone was, they probably thought it was Castiel’s own towel. It’s not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things; Castiel and Sam share water bottles and offer each other clean towels all the time. In fact, the shirt Castiel is wearing is an extra Sam carries in case he forgets to take a clean one to change into after working out.
Castiel continues dismissing his paranoia all throughout an extended episode of Ghostfacers that cuts into Dr. Sexy’s usual timeslot. Castiel hadn’t been keeping up with the episodes, content to hang around the gym with Sam even after they’ve showered and changed. In the last two months, Castiel has only seen three episodes, and only because Dean had recorded them at Sam’s house. And when they watched it together, Dean had made vocal his irritation at Castiel and Sam’s lack of attention to the program.
Castiel shuts off the TV, his thoughts too muddled to worry himself with fictitious, supernatural problems.
----
At work the next day, Castiel’s thoughts trail away from the numbers on his computer screen. He logs off and goes by HR to tell her he’s been feeling under the weather. Atropos, like everyone else Castiel works with, acts as a strict supervisor, but has a soft spot for Castiel. She pushes her glasses up her nose and nods.
“Go ahead,” she sighs. “I know you’ve been helping your sister with her new baby. You look like you could use the rest.”
Castiel is too distracted to take offense to that. He stops at a drive thru and orders Balthazar and Anna a meal along with a salad for himself. At Anna’s house, Balthazar is singing to a crying Rachel in his arms. It’s a Spanish drinking song slowed down to sound like a lullaby. Castiel isn't accustomed to the song sounding soothing, having only heard it when he’s sick off vodka with Balthazar practically yelling the words.
Castiel holds up the fast food bag and receives a grateful smile from Balthazar. Balthazar continues singing but he nods his head in the direction of the kitchen. There, Anna has her arms elbow-deep in soap water, a lopsided pile of clean bottles in one sink and dirty bottles littering the counter.
“I brought lunch,” Castiel says over the dying whimpers of Rachel.
The front of Anna’s shirt is soaked from the water, and she abandons her task to pull the bag from Castiel’s hand and give him a hug.
“Please tell me Gabe and Michael are coming to get Rachel off our hands for a few hours,” Anna whispers.
“I don’t think you’ll be that lucky,” Castiel laughs.
Anna sits at the table and points to the only other chair in the kitchen that isn’t covered in baby toys or clothes. Castiel watches in amusement as Anna devours both her and Balthazar’s order of fries.
“Why aren’t you at work?” she asks.
“I’ve been hoping to talk to you for a while,” Castiel says. “But I know you’ve been busy with Rachel.”
“I can always make time for you, little brother,” Anna assures Castiel, patting his hand before reaching back into the bag and pulling out her burger.
Castiel tells Anna about the incident at the gym the day before and how he “borrowed” Sam’s towel and failed to return it.
“Why would I do that?” Castiel laments. “He was still in the building, I could see him right there. And I had a perfectly good towel already in my bag.”
Castiel thinks about how he placed the towel with his other dirty clothes, ready to be washed when he left work. In his head, he begins mapping out logical excuses for why he can’t go to the gym on Thursday.
“My actions aren’t making any sense,” Castiel says under his breath.
“Dating someone will make you do weird things,” Anna says with a shrug.
Castiel tilts his head, “What do you mean?”
Anna pushes her half-eaten burger aside, “Well, when me and Balthazar started dating, I started speaking with an accent on the phone.”
“I remember that,” Castiel nods, “but Sam and I are not dating.”
Anna wipes her hands on her pants and gets up from the table. She pulls out two glasses from her cabinet.
“I’m sorry, Cass,” Anna says gently. “I knew you guys weren’t calling each other ‘boyfriends,’ but I thought that was just because you two were being shy about it.”
Castiel sits at the table, distantly listening to Anna pour herself and Castiel glasses of ice tea and the sounds of Balthazar cooing at Rachel in the other room. He excuses himself not long after, apologizing for not being any more help around the house. Anna assures him delivering lunch was enough. Castiel goes home, washes his clothes and cleans up his house in preparation for his brothers’ arrival. He folds Sam’s towel and sets it at the end of his bed. He can barely think about putting it back in his bag. His actions, he’s starting to understand, do imply an attraction to Sam.
He feels he should confess to a priest, but he doesn’t think the Father will care about a towel if Castiel admits to being attracted to another man. It seems so obvious to Castiel now, he’s not sure he can return the towel or else Sam will know. Sam will feel betrayed, thinking Castiel was ogling him when Castiel should have been listening. Sam wouldn’t be wrong, but it’s unfair to believe Castiel couldn’t do both.
Castiel helps Balthazar and Anna entertain Gabriel and Michael. He intercepts Michael’s fretting over the couple “living in sin” by admitting he’s decided not to have children. If there was anything Michael would be frustrated by more than one of his siblings being unwed and with child, it would be a sibling with no plans of ever passing on the family name. The snickers coming from Gabriel, Anna, and Balthazar as Michael lectures Castiel eases the anxiety he had been feeling since he first acknowledged his feelings for Sam.
The weekend spent with his brothers goes by faster than Castiel had expected, and the only one to cry was Rachel. Castiel wants to share this with Sam, but when he picks up his phone, his eyes dart to his laundry room where he relocated Sam’s gym towel. The comment Balthazar made about Castiel’s constant correspondence with Sam comes to Castiel’s mind, and the week passes by slower than Castiel would have liked.
Castiel receives a text from Sam on Thursday before he heads for the gym. It’s a short message, “Hope the cycling treats you well today! ;) –S,” a typical note from Sam, but it puts Castiel ill at ease. He spends his time at the gym looking up whenever he hears the doors open, afraid it’s Sam coming in to tell Castiel to back off, that Sam knows Castiel has his gym towel and he just wants to be friends, if that. Sam texts Castiel again on Friday afternoon, asking if Castiel would be interested in seeing the newest Katherine Heigl movie. Castiel ignores the text and ignores the follow up inquiring Castiel about his health. He even gets one from Dean, just saying, “yo!” but Castiel now feels uncomfortable talking to the guy whose brother he had been inadvertently skeeving on.
Come Monday, Castiel doesn’t believe he could possibly be in the same room with Sam again. He knows he shouldn’t skip any visits to the gym, as he has been making so much progress. It’s been months since the last time his muscles ached. He goes home after work and changes into his workout clothes, packs his bag, and goes to the gym. There was no real reason he chose to go to the gym on Thursdays rather than Mondays. He believes it might have had something to do with Anna’s schedule, but he can’t remember any reason other than his promise to meet with Sam.
The people in the gym on Monday seem no more different than anyone Castiel sees on Thursday. He doesn’t see Charlie, but he spots Tamara talking to one of the trainers at the juice bar. He sees an elliptical open and begins heading over, but stops when he hears a voice behind him.
“Cass!” Sam calls.
Castiel cringes, and his face heats up.
He turns to see Sam, lovely, strong Sam, smiling, because he doesn’t know Castiel has abused their friendship. He hasn’t realized Castiel isn’t just weird because he paints his toenails or keeps a collection of honey from every state he’s ever been in or that he has all the available seasons of Dr. Sexy on Blu-ray. Castiel is weird because he took Sam’s towel. Sam doesn’t yet know Castiel is weird because he’s in love with Sam.
“What are you doing here?” Castiel blurts when Sam reaches him.
Sam takes it in stride, laughing and saying, “Dean wanted to come in today. What’re you doing here? I sent you a text, I thought maybe you were sick, but when I didn’t get a response, I thought maybe you were busy.”
Sam’s face falls for a split second, but he regains his sheepish smile when he asks, “Or maybe you were ignoring me?”
“It’s impossible for me to ignore you, Sam,” Castiel admits.
Sam smiles, says, “But–”
“But that’s what’s wrong with me.”
Sam’s smile wavers, “What do you mean?”
Behind Sam, Castiel sees Dean lifting a five pound dumbbell as he watches Sam and Castiel. He throws Castiel a thumbs-up and a wink. Castiel nods, takes a deep breath and reaches into his gym bag.
“I stole your towel,” he says, holding the item out.
Sam reaches for it, saying, “That’s okay, I–”
“I stole your towel because I think I’m in love with you,” Castiel says. “And I’m sorry.”
Sam chuckles, “Cass, if you needed a towel, you could’ve just asked.”
Castiel squints up at Sam, “You’re not upset about me being in love with you?”
Sam shrugs, “I’m not upset because I think I’m in love with you too.”
Something simultaneously grows and releases in Castiel’s chest. It’s a tingle that can’t compare to the soreness of working out, but it’s just as subtle. He stewed in worry for days after realizing his feelings for Sam were more than that of friendship. He could have been spending that time with Sam instead of avoiding him. They could have seen that Katherine Heigl movie.
He remembers what Anna told him in the kitchen.
He asks, “Have we been dating?”
Sam waves his hand, “Maybe?”
Castiel clenches his hands. He might have been the only one in their relationship who didn’t know there was a relationship.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sam shifts in place, says, “I thought maybe you just wanted to take things slow. And I thought it was pretty obvious what we were doing, so I didn’t think we had to explicitly label it.”
Sam wrings the towel in his hand, bites his bottom lip. This is their first fight as a couple and the first conversation they have acknowledging their relationship being more than just friends. Castiel loosens his fists and reaches out to still Sam’s hands.
“Sam, if we do this, we have to do it right,” Castiel says. “I like being with you, and I like talking to you, so I want us to always be clear about our intentions from now on, okay?”
“Sounds fair,” Sam agrees, stepping into Castiel’s personal space. “Does this mean we can kiss now?”
“Maybe not with Dean watching…”
Sam tugs Castiel’s hand and pulls him into one of the empty workout rooms. They stay in there until a trainer comes in and tells them unless they intend on staying for kickboxing, would they kindly fraternize elsewhere?
Castiel appreciates Dean’s tact upon seeing the hickies on Sam’s neck that his gym towel fails to hide.