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Sam slammed the refrigerator shut after seeing nothing but beer, takeout that was probably turning into a petri dish, and what looked like half a candy bar. Again, old as hell, so he wasn’t exactly sure what it was.
“About time,” he said as Dean finally walked into the kitchen, still half asleep in what Sam continued to call his “dead guy robe.” Dean just grunted in response. He was never much of a morning person, unlike Sam, who had been up for hours at this point. “It’s almost one o’clock, man.” Dean scowled at the coffee pot, which Sam had already emptied for the morning and started digging through the cabinets to find some more. “Already checked. We’re out.”
“Seriously?”
“Hey, I was up all night tryna find anything ever on the Darkness,” Sam complained. Dean continued to ignore him as he scavenged the kitchen for something to eat or drink. Dean turned back to Sam, but before Dean could ask him to make a grocery run, Sam said “It’s your turn to make a run.”
Dean glared at him again. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered, turning back to his room. He paused in the doorway when Castiel practically appeared out of nowhere. He may not have his wings anymore, but he was still damn good at popping up whenever. The man and the angel glared at each other. They were in the middle of a dispute again because Castiel didn’t answer Dean’s calls while he was actively risking his ass in Heaven to try getting information on the Darkness, whom the little family had just learned is God’s sister.
“Cas, why don’t you go with him?” Sam suggested.
“What?” Dean and Castiel responded in unison, matching looks of “are you fucking serious?” Dean’s irritation was much stronger.
“I got shit I need to do around here anyway.”
“Sam. I don’t think that would be the best idea,” Castiel responded while Dean shoulder-checked him on the way out of the room.
“I can handle a damn grocery run,” Dean said loudly.
Castiel walked further into the kitchen once Dean was out of earshot. “I don’t think Dean wants me to—”
“I don’t care, Cas. You guys haven’t talked in two weeks now and I’m sick of it,” Sam snapped. He figured it would be easier to convince Castiel than Dean to force the two of them into a space together. “Plus, it’ll make it easier. Divide and conquer, you know?” Sam eased his tone, worried he offended the angel by being harsh. Castiel looked at him, trying to understand what Sam meant by “divide and conquer,” since it wasn’t being used in the concept of literal war and conquest.
“Then, when you come back, you guys can go back to not talking to each other, alright?”
“I still—”
“Comin’ or what?” Dean asked, passing by the kitchen again. Sam was somewhat surprised to see his brother on board with his idea, but he wasn’t going to question it. Sam looked at Castiel, insisting he go. Before Castiel could respond, Dean started walking off towards the exit.
“Go,” Sam mouthed at Castiel, who gave him a final dirty look before shoving his hands in his pockets to follow Dean. “Don’t forget the carrots this time,” he shouted after the two. He earned a middle finger from his brother and another look from Castiel before the door slammed shut, startling Sam. While he wasn’t confident that Dean and Castiel would be talking to each other again after their forced outing, Sam still decided to hope for the best.
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“Grab a cart,” Dean said roughly to Cas as they entered the town Walmart. He was already in a bad mood, not having had his coffee for the morning. Now he had to do grocery shopping with Cas. He was still pissed to no end at the angel for ignoring him. Dean spent way too long worrying something bad had happened to him, but Dean would never say it out loud. Besides Sam, Cas was the only other person— well, angel— that Dean cared about so deeply. He always said it was the kind of closeness that meant he saw Cas as his brother, but he knew it was a little something more. Another thing he would never say out loud. He had no reason to anyway. He and Cas had been close for years, even if Dean was pissed at him, and Castiel was pissed at Dean for being pissed at him.
The two walked toward the produce aisle, Dean keeping a solid foot of distance from the angel the entire time. He pulled the usual list he kept on his phone out to check what Sam wanted specifically. Dean was simple. Snacks, junk, pie, and bacon. It wasn’t the only things he ever got for himself, but they were his top priority. Sam, on the other hand, liked his damn rabbit food, so that was what Dean would get him. Dean decided he would be the one to load the cart while Cas pushed. He had the list anyway.
“Dean. You forgot—”
“I didn’t forget,” Dean scowled as they left the section. Cas was talking about the carrots Sam specifically asked for. “I just didn’t get them,” he chuckled to himself. Cas gave him a disapproving look, but didn’t say anything in response. Admittedly, Dean was kind of hoping Cas would argue back with him, but fuck it. If he was going to keep it up, so would Dean.
Dean gritted his teeth as he checked off items on the list from his phone. “You just had to get the squeaky fucking cart, didn’t you?” he said more harshly than he intended. The squeak that was turning into more of a shriek from the cart was giving him a headache. Being in the laundry aisle full of overwhelming scents didn’t make anything better.
“Sorry. It wasn’t labeled.”
That got a hidden smirk from Dean. “Of course it wasn’t,” he responded. “That’s how they get you. The two were walking more or less beside each other at this point, Dean still keeping his distance. Both of them somewhat ignored that their lack of proximity was an annoyance to people, until a young man, close to Cas’s height, looked at them irritably out of the corner of his eye, before swiping a bag of chips and trying to carry it in his overfilled arms. Dean shrugged to himself, picking a few other snacks he liked and tossing them into the cart. Strolling down the aisle, Dean saw a section of pork rinds, and grabbed a couple bags. He wasn’t sure what flavor Cas actually liked, or if it mattered, but he still got them anyway. Was he still pissed at Cas? Absolutely. That didn’t mean Dean had to be extra shitty.
“I scan, you bag,” Dean instructed as they reached the self checkout. Castiel did as he was told, the two working in silent synchronization. Once the cart was loaded again, Dean led the way back to the Impala. They tossed the majority of the groceries in the back seat carelessly and slammed their respective doors behind them. Dean fiddled with the ignition until the car came alive, then drove out of the parking lot quickly, the classic rock station turned up loud enough to bother Cas. He did it for one, to avoid conversation (like that was going to happen anyway) and two, to bother the angel.
“Hands off,” Dean said, lightly swatting Cas’s hand away from the volume dial on the radio. He turned it down himself to an acceptable level, before turning it all the way off.
“You can’t disappear like that, man,” Dean said suddenly. Cas turned to him, a little surprised Dean was saying anything. “A lot of angels are out to get you, you know.”
Castiel scoffed. “Of course I know that, Dean. They have been for years.”
Dean’s grip tightened on the wheel, thoughts of losing his best friend surfacing strongly. “You ever need to go do angel shit, you tell me, got it? And when you’re back, you tell me. I don’t need to sit around wondering where the hell you are or if something…” Dean couldn’t help but trail off. He didn’t want to think about losing Cas. “Alright?”
“Alright,” Cas responded casually.
“No. That’s not good enough. I need you to promise me, Cas.” Dean turned his head to look at Cas quickly. “Promise me, Cas,” he repeated. Cas nodded.
“I promise, Dean.”
“Good,” was all Dean said before turning the radio back on.
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Sam clenched his jaw as he heard the door to the bunker swing open. He almost didn’t want to know how the grocery run went, but he sighed with relief as he saw Dean and Castiel descending, bags in hand, and whispering to each other. Dean had a small smile on his face, while Castiel was holding most of the bags, as well as a package of toilet paper under each arm. Sam silently helped them put the groceries away, then glared at Dean when he noticed. “You forgot the carrots.”
Dean shrugged. “I didn’t forget. I just didn’t get them,” he grinned. Castiel had a small smirk behind him, likely having heard the joke before. He opened his coat and pulled a package of carrots out of his inside pocket anyway.
“I got them, Sam. Don’t worry,” he said, passing him the bag.
“When the hell did you get those?” Dean asked, raising his voice. Sam stepped back and continued putting stuff away.
“Don’t act like you have never shoplifted, Dean.” Castiel said in defense. Dean couldn’t argue with that, so he didn’t. Sam knew another one of their dumbass fights was inevitable, but for now, he would enjoy the peace. They had other shit to worry about anyway.