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Dean's doing the dishes. At least that's what he's supposed to be doing. It's a little hard to concentrate, now that Cas has walked into the kitchen in the Bunker, wrapped his arms around Dean's waist and started pressing kisses to the back of Dean's neck.
'If you're not going to help, go away.' Dean declares as he picks up another plate and rubs the cloth over it, spreading the soap and water, some of which splatters onto his hands and even onto his shirt. He places the clean plate on the rack to dry later, but Cas quickly picks it up after disentangling himself from Dean and starts to dry it with the towel that he pulls from its resting place over Dean's right shoulder.
'That's more like it.' Dean murmurs in agreement, a small smirk on his lips as he picks up Cas' favourite coffee mug and starts to give that a clean. He hands it to Cas the minute he comes back from putting the plate away in the cupboard and from the corner of his eye, watches as he carefully dries it.
'So, apparently we're getting closer to tracking down Metatron and finding a way to raise the Angels back up.' Dean opens before he winces, because yeah, that was just as smooth and discreet as he wanted it to be. Yeah right.
He notices Cas freeze for a split second before he turns away and goes back to hang the mug up on the holder on the counter on the other side of the kitchen. Dean doesn't turn around, but knows he's standing there, with his eyes closed and maybe a frown on his face or even holding back tears, because it doesn't take this long to put away a silly little mug.
'It's a good thing,' Cas eventually answers, and Dean hears him clear his throat before he answers. Finally hears the distinctive sound of ceramic hitting metal, then hears Cas' bare feet pad back across to stand beside him - he had developed a thing for walking around bare footed, always said boots or socks felt confining - and takes the next dish - a bowl - from his hands. 'I'm sure my brothers and sisters will appreciate it.'
Dean nods as he picks up another bowl from the sink - Kevin really loved his cereal - and says nothing as he starts to wash that too. He thinks about saying nothing else, letting it slide because he really doesn't want to talk about this, not when things were finally going good between them, but he knew he'd have to have it eventually… and better later that never, right? At least he knows where he stands after it.
'What about you, though? You appreciating it?' Dean finally gets up the nerve to ask, and his green eyes meet Cas' bright blue ones as he hands him the bowl.
Cas says nothing as he takes it from Dean, starting to towel it dry and he drops his gaze from Dean's, focusing solely on the task at hand.
He still hasn't said anything by the time he turns and goes to place the bowl in the cupboard.
'I still haven't atoned for all my mistakes,' is his answer and Dean swallows hard, because he knows what that means. Any time he takes about seeking forgiveness for his actions, it always leads to them same destination; returning to Heaven to do it.
He hums in response instead, because he's learnt his lesson. Don't argue with Cas when he's determined to do something. It only pushes him further away, and if he plans on leaving again - though he always leaves, doesn't he? - it's best just to keep silent and appreciate whatever time he has with him now.
But it's a little hard to do it, when Cas' arms comes around his waist again, his chin finding a resting place on Dean's shoulder and he turns and presses a kiss to Dean's jaw. Dean's tempted to shrug out of it, because yeah, it's hard for him to accept these acts when he knows there's going to be a time when he won't have them anymore, but he doesn't. Like he said before, appreciate it whilst he has it.
'I think helping my brothers and sisters return to Heaven will do that; helping them return home.' Another kiss is pressed softly to Dean's jaw.
Dean's heart swells, but he can't get his hope up yet. Cas is getting better with his "people skills" but hell, sometimes it was hard to be one hundred percent sure about what he was saying.
'Is it still home to you? I know at Christmas…' he trails off at the end, because they've reached an agreement not to bring up that incident at Christmas, but it was sort of necessary at that moment.
'No.' Cas answers straight away. 'This is my home. You are my home. If we manage this, I may go back but I have no intentions of staying. Not anymore.'
And with that, Dean finally turns in Cas' embrace, wrapping his still wet hands around his neck and entwining them in his hair, and Cas would protest because it's turned out that he's quite fussy about his hair, but Dean is pressing his lips to his and any and all thoughts of how his hair is ruined just flees from his mind, and he kisses Dean back with as much passion as he can muster.
Then, when Sam walks in the kitchen, running a hand through his sleep mused hair, they finally break apart. Just in time to see Sam roll his eyes and hear him mutter about his stupid brother and his stupid Angel being in stupid love as he heads for his cup and fills it with coffee to wake himself up.
And Dean just grins and tells Sam to shut up, before he turns back and returns to cleaning the dishes, with Cas helping him dry like before. But he can't deny that it feels like a fucking weight has been lifted off his chest with the declaration from Cas that he was home. Not Heaven.
Dean Winchester had found someone who loved him enough to call him home.
So, yeah, maybe his ego did get a little stroking then, but he had to face it, if anyone was able to stroke his ego nowadays, it was Castiel: ex-Angel of the Lord.