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Dean Winchester is not a quiet man. His car is loud, his music is loud and, as Sam and any unfortunate neighbours in motels across the country will testify, he is not in any way a quiet lover. No, Dean just doesn’t do quiet.
Unless Castiel asks.
Because Castiel never asks for anything, except that Dean not get himself killed. Dean's pretty happy to go along with that.
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"Anything you miss about upstairs?"
Dean was halfway through a six pack with no working TV or radio in this fleabag room, and since Sam had refused to leave him alone with the laptop since the Buxom British Babes incident, Cas was the only source of entertainment.
"Peace"
"Peace, huh? Didn't seem that peaceful last visit."
"It was. Before our Father left us, there was silence."
"You miss that? Not a lot of silence down here."
"None, as I was recently reminded."
"Well, not around us maybe..."
"While you have slept I have visited deserts, mountains, caves and oceans. There is no silence as pure as heaven on this earth."
"C'mon; the bottom of the ocean?"
"The movement of the water, creatures burrowing into the seabed, the sand shifting."
Dean had nothing to say to that. He emptied his bottle, now acutely aware of the slosh of liquid against the glass and the deep sound as he swallowed it down.
"Can't you just, I don't know, turn off your ears or something?"
"It would leave you unprotected. It is difficult enough to note the passage of time here, in silence it would be even more so."
"Cas, I did just fine before-"
"You died. Many times over."
"Okay, I promise not to die and I think Gabriel’s given up trying to kill me. I won't even leave the room."
"I will know that you are trying not to disturb me. It will disturb me."
"Swear to God, you are deliberately making this difficult."
Castiel looked chastised. "I do not require silence."
"Okay, you and me are going to have another talk about why it's okay to want things."
"I am aware of that, Dean."
"So, we'll find a way to be silent."
"We?"
"We, you, whatever you want."
"I would like you to be silent."
"Isn't that a nice way of saying shut your mouth." Dean mumbled under his breath.
"I think you misunderstand. I would like you to be silent with me."
"And by with me you mean…"
"Alongside me. I would like to show you a faint imitation of what it is to be at peace."
"Oh."
"Do you not wish to-"
"No! No, I mean, yeah that could be cool."
"You sounded disappointed"
"Disappointed? Nah. So come on, do your" Dean gestured to his ears. "Do your thing."
Castiel still appeared hesitant.
"Okay, here's the deal. Sam will be back in an hour. You can face the door and when he walks in, you'll know it's time to stop. I doubt anything can happen to us in an hour in the ass-end of nowhere on a-"
Castiel's hands cupped his face, fingers covering his ears and then nothing. It was disorientating, enough that Dean slumped down onto his bed. No ringing, no static noise, not even the sound of his pulse. Experimenting, he knocked hard on the dresser beside his bed. He felt the cool wood, the pressure and stab of pain that told him he'd hit it pretty hard. But no sound, no change at all.
Castiel was sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed. Dean waved at him, tried to speak and realised he had no idea whether he was actually talking or not. He couldn't even hear himself breathing. But Castiel nodded all the same.
Dean kicked up his legs and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. For the first time in months, his mind wasn't racing. He closed his eyes, luxuriating in nothing. Cas was right. This was something special.
The bed dipped to the side of him, and then something stroked his cheek. He jolted upright, nearly clashing heads with Castiel. Dean only just caught his hand as Castiel stepped backwards, away, looking like he'd been caught doing something blasphemous.
Dean shook his head and pulled Castiel back. He closed the distance but then stood in front of the bed, waiting. It took Dean a moment to realise that he was waiting for Dean to do something.
There were two ways of going about this, Dean figured. He chose the Winchester way.
It was harder than he’d thought to pull Castiel down to his level – the shirt kept slipping through his fingers, but as soon as he was close enough, Dean wrapped a hand around Castiel’s neck and drew him closer. He stopped, just before where he could still feel Castiel’s breath on his face, warming his lips. Loosening his grip, he moved his hand up to the dip just below Castiel’s hairline and stroked the skin there, hoping that just maybe Cas would get the message for once. He closed his eyes and grinned when Castiel finally kissed him. Fuck it, fuck everything just for once. He was going to savor this.
Castiel’s hands pressed down on the bed on either side, guiding Dean to lie back. He obeyed and was surprised to feel just Castiel’s shirt sleeves against his bare forearms. At some point, he’d lost the coat. Sneaky stealth angels.
Sam would probably call this sensory deprivation; he’d have some college-educated reason why everything was just feeling so much better right now. And, to be honest, Sam could shove it. Dean didn’t want an explanation; he wanted Cas, just like this.
Together, for a short time, they enjoyed the silence.