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“We’re back!” Sam shouts as he and Eileen make their way toward the bunker kitchen.
“You’re just in time, the burgers are almost done. Hunt went okay? No issues or anything?” Dean raises his voice to be heard over the music playing through the speaker on the counter.
“Yeah, it was just a vengeful spirit. An easy salt and burn cleared it right up.” Eileen answers while Sam rolls his eyes and throws a megawatt bitch face at Dean.
“Taylor Swift? Really, Dean?” Sam groans.
“Hey! The cook is like the driver, which means that I get to pick the music and you get to sit down and shut your cakehole,” Dean waves the knife he’s using to cut tomato menacingly across the metal counter. “Or you can make your own food and I can dump your southwest bean burgers in the trash where they belong.”
Sam turns an indignant face toward Eileen, but she just laughs.
“Sorry, Sam. I actually agree with Dean here. Plus, I like her songs too.” Dean gives her a wink and signs thank you while Sam huffs in frustration and slumps into a seat at the table across from Cas.
“I’m sorry, Sam. I’m the one who requested Taylor Swift. Jack and Claire have been listening to her a lot recently in preparation for the concert. I didn’t like it at first, but I must admit that some of the songs are very catchy and pleasing to listen to.”
“Dude! How come Cas gets to pick the music?”
“Well, Sammy, he actually helped with dinner, so he gets a say and I happen to like a little Taylor every once in a while.” Dean retorts but he can’t quite meet his brother’s glare.
Sam narrows his eyes, looking between Dean, clearly hard at work in the kitchen, and Cas, clearly just sitting at the table. “Oh yeah? How exactly did Cas help with dinner, ‘cause it looks like he’s just sitting around like the rest of us.”
“Dean, it’s okay. He’s right, I haven't really done anything to help.” Cas gets up and plucks Dean’s phone off the counter to switch the music. Before he can even get in the numbers of Dean’s passcode (222967) the phone is plucked from his hands and deposited into Dean’s pocket.
“He’s my emotional support since you two decided you wanted to go on a hunting date and didn’t invite us.” Dean emphasizes his point by sticking out his tongue. “So, we’re at least going to finish the songs Cas queued or I’ll purposely burn your bean patties, capiche?”
Cas shuffles awkwardly back to his seat.
"Ughhhhh, fine,” Sam groans, dropping his head to the table in resignation.
“Don’t let him fool you. He listens to Taylor Swift with me, and he enjoys it,” Eileen mouths to Dean.
“ Oh, I know.” Dean mouths back with a grin and a wink.
After a few more songs, Dean finally tells Sam he can join the jam session and add songs to the queue. Sam thinks for a minute before he starts grinning and typing furiously.
“Hey, hey! Don’t make me revoke your privileges.”
“What? I haven’t done anything.” Sam blinks back at him, the picture of innocence, but Dean can practically hear the yet that Sam didn’t say.
“Uh, huh. Sure. Just for that: Cas you have another request?”
“Oh, uh,” Cas’ eyes dart toward Sam.
“Don’t worry about him, in fact, don't even look at him," Dean tells Cas over exasperated moose noises, "What do you want?”
“Would you mind listening to Shake It Off again?” Cas asks softly and Dean feels his heart melt a little. Cas has already queued that one several times today, but Dean finds that the repetition doesn’t bug him like it normally would, especially not when Cas begins dancing without realizing it.
“Not at all. I like that one too.” Dean knows his words come out too soft; he tries to recover before anyone else can notice, "You feel free to add stuff too, Eileen.”
“Thanks, but I’m actually enjoying your and Cas’ playlist,” Eileen admits, sticking her tongue out at Sam when he lets out a groan.
Sam’s pick begins playing as Dean preps the buns for when the patties get done. It starts out low and slow and folky and he’s sure he’s never heard it before but the singer sounds familiar. Dean sees Eileen and Sam signing back and forth but it’s too fast and beyond his limited ASL knowledge, so he just shrugs it off. He might have skipped the song if he’d known that Eileen was telling his brother You're the worst. You really shouldn’t push them or Sam’s reply It’s for their own good .
“Who sings this?”
“Hozier. It’s new.” Sam answers, giving him a strange look.
“Oh, I didn’t even realize he’d released new stuff.” Dean finds himself thinking it sounds more like Eileen’s taste in music than Sam’s, but it’s not bad. “What’s it called?”
“Too Sweet,” Sam replies casually.
Then the chorus hits and Dean stills for a moment.
I take my whiskey neat,
My coffee black and my bed ...
Dean lets out a huff of laughter when he sees Cas whip his head toward Dean and raise his brow with amusement.
“Ha, same! Do-” Dean starts to jokingly ask Sam if he thinks the song was written about him but the next lyrics steal the words.
You’re too sweet for me,
You’re too sweet for me ...
Dean’s eyes immediately seek out Cas, who is looking right back at him with longing that he quickly tries to hide. Dean’s cheeks heat up and he can’t bring himself to look away even when Cas does.
“Dean! Careful the burgers are gonna burn!”
Sam's shout startles Dean into action and he flips them just in time. He quickly decides to focus entirely on serving up the food and avoiding blue eyes, which works until the middle of the second verse.
You know you’re bright as the morning,
As soft as the rain,
Pretty as a vine,
As sweet as a grape
Once again, he’s compelled to lock eyes with his angel. His mouth opens to try and make a joke of it, but nothing comes out.
Sam and Eileen share a knowing look and begin signing again; Cas and Dean are too lost in each other’s eyes to notice.
The song ends and the room feels far too heavy for the upbeat sound of Shake It Off.
“So? How’d you like it? I thought it was kind of spot on for you, Dean.” Sam breaks the silence, an odd tone in his voice. He winces as Eileen shoots him a warning look and kicks him under the table. “Only about the whiskey and the coffee though, of course.”
“It, it was … good and the whiskey and coffee part are very me but uh,” Dean takes a shaky breath and stares directly at Cas with a shy smile, “I definitely like things that are probably too sweet for me.”
Cas’ eyes go wide before dropping to his hands.
Eileen’s mouth falls open as she looks between Dean and Cas before asking Sam, in sign, if this is actually happening.
Sam, looking equally surprised that his impromptu plot appears to have succeeded, just shrugs at her. No one says anything and another Taylor Swift song begins to play.
Eventually, Sam takes it upon himself to break the silence again. “Well, um, I think Eileen and I are going to work on some ... lore research. We’ll just take our plates to my room ‘cause it's pretty dry stuff and we don’t want to bore you.”
Eileen rolls her eyes at the lame excuse to give Cas and Dean some privacy but goes along anyway and grabs two of the bean burgers Dean has finished assembling.
Dean thinks he hears Eileen call Sam a coward as they exit into the hallway but he’s too hyperaware of Cas still avoiding his gaze to really care all that much. He silently begs the angel to look at him, to give him some glimpse of what is going on in his head. Dean needs something to reassure him that Cas isn’t avoiding looking at him because he is horrified by Dean’s attempt at flirting.
“Whelp I guess it’s just us for dinner then. Typical Sammy to bitch about the music then ditch.” Dean tries to break the tension and pretend he didn’t just flirt with his friend in front of his family. He sets their beef burgers down at the table.
“Thank you. It looks delicious, Dean.” Perpetually chapped lips curve into a small, lovely smile and blue eyes shine up at him. His heart starts pattering in a series of impossible acrobatics like it's going for a gold medal. His breath catches and he knows his face is a few seconds from telegraphing his feelings in bright pink. He quickly retreats back to the fridge to take some deep breaths. “Anyway, uh, you want a beer?”
“Hmm? Oh, sure. That would be nice. Are you ... are you going to have whiskey?” Cas tries to tease, but the words come out gentle. Dean turns and sees the smile falter as Cas mistakes his hope for confusion. Before he can get out even a fake laugh, Cas is shoving his burger into his mouth and averting his gaze.
Dean brings Cas his bottle of beer and sits down next to him. Cas may have started eating the burger as a distraction, but it now looks like he’s genuinely enjoying it. He’s making ridiculous happy little noises and Dean can’t bring himself to say anything that might ruin the moment. He’s about to take a bite of his own burger when Cas finally comes up for air after nearly inhaling three quarters of his burger. Dean's hands stop, his mouth hangs open, and he can’t do anything but stare at where Cas is trying to lick a bit of runaway ketchup off his chin as he reaches for the beer.
Can’t you see that I’m the one who understands you,
Been here all along so why can’t you see,
You belong with me
“You know, I think I really am in the mood for something sweet,” Dean finds himself saying; the words spilling out without his permission.
“Oh, um, I don’t know if we have anything...” Cas’ brow furrows as he tries to think if there are any sweets that might be hidden in the bunker’s pantry or fridge.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to ...” Dean trails off as he leans forward and plants a quick kiss at the corner of Cas’ mouth before he can chicken out. He sits back and begins to quietly panic when Cas simply stares back at him with surprise. When he can’t handle it anymore, Dean tears his gaze away and starts fiddling with a hole in his jeans. Discouraged and embarrassed he begins mentally cursing himself and Hozier and Taylor for giving him stupid ideas.
“Uh, sorry. You still had ketchup on your face and all these dumb songs… I thought it would be funny but it was stupid and rude and I’m sorry. If you want, we can just ... We can forget it ever happened,” Dean tells the table. He doesn’t notice that Cas’ fingers have crept up to rest on the side of his lips, like if he keeps them there, he might be able hold on to the sensation of Dean’s kiss.
At Cas’ lack of response, Dean starts eating his burger again, even if it tastes like ash and gets stuck in his throat.
Kiss me once ‘cause you know I had a long night,
Cas tries to speak, tries to find the right way to tell Dean that it wasn’t stupid at all, to tell him that the last thing he wants to do is forget this happened. He desperately wants another kiss but he doesn’t how to ask and the words all get jumbled and scatter as soon as they form. So, he gives up on trying to think and just dips his finger into the ketchup still overflowing from his burger and wipes the red condiment on his bottom lip.
Kiss me twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright
“Dean?”
Dean’s head shoots up at the breathless call.
Three times ‘cause I waited my whole life,
One, two, one, two three, four!
Once his gaze to breaks free from studying the soft hope in Cas’ eyes it drifts down to the ketchup smeared on his beautiful lips.
I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings, uh-huh,
"You missed a spot.”
That’s right, darlin’, you’re the one I want.
It’s all the invitation Dean needs. His hand goes to the back of Cas’ neck, thumb gently caressing his cheek as he slowly leans in again. Cas’ eyes flutter closed and his lips part slightly, breath coming out quick in anticipation as Dean’s lips hover over his. A gasp slips out when Dean’s tongue clears away the ketchup before delving deeper.
They kiss each other in a haze, eager exploration building into desperate passion. They come up for air not quite knowing how Cas ended up straddling Dean or when they’d given each other matching hickeys but not really caring either.
“We should probably move this to my room before Sam or Eileen bring their dishes out.” Dean murmurs, not really paying attention to his own words as he finds a spot on Cas’ jaw that he’s sure he hasn't kissed yet.
“That’s, mmmh, probably a good idea,” Cas replies, not making a single move to disentangle himself from Dean’s lap. After a few more slow kisses, Dean takes it upon himself to lift Cas up and carry him to his bed.
Neither one remembers to grab Dean’s phone or turn off the speaker and Taylor’s voice follows them down the hall.
Call my bluff, call you “Babe,”
Have my back, yeah, every day,
Feels like home, stay in bed,
The whole weekend,
It’s nice to have a friend,
It’s nice to have a friend,
It’s nice to have a friend.