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“C’mon, Cas, you’re on Earth full-time now anyway. Wouldn’t it be nice to have somewhere to call home?” Dean said. He handed Cas a beer and tossed another to Sam before settling into a chair with his own.
“You and Sam managed for years without one,” Cas said.
Sam twisted the top off his beer. “No, we didn’t. We always had the Impala, and she’s still just as much home as the bunker, if not more. You’ve got your car, yeah, but it’s not really home, is it?”
“But this is…” Cas started.
“It’s our home now, yeah. You’re the best friend we’ve ever had, Cas, are you really that surprised we consider you part of the family and think it’d be cool to have you live here too?” Dean said.
“Yes.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re an idiot too, then. Please, at least consider the idea?”
Castiel considered. He did miss having somewhere to call home, where he could be surrounded by friends. Two wasn’t exactly “surrounded”, but that wasn’t the point. It occurred to him that Dean and Sam might set up a room for him anyway. He had a tendency to show up injured or otherwise incapacitated frequently, and although Sam was always very generous about letting Castiel use his room, perhaps he was tired of the intrusion. “Very well. If you’re both sure you want to do this, then I accept your offer.”
“Awesome.” Dean led the way to the hallway where his and Sam’s rooms were. “Pick one.”
Cas hesitated. He knew the rooms were all the same, which meant that literally the only difference was whether he was on Sam’s side of the hall or Dean’s side. He certainly didn’t want anything read into which side he chose.
“Come on, man, they’re all the same. Eeny meeny miney moe if you have to, but pick one,” Dean said.
“Eeny…?”
“It’s a kid’s game, a rhyme that you say while pointing at each choice in turn. The one you end up on is the one you pick.” Sam looked over at Dean. “Do you even remember how it went? You and I always settled things with paper rock scissors.”
“I remember the part about catching a tiger by the toe,” Dean said. “Other than that, nope.”
“Why would you want to catch a tiger by the toe? Tigers are not friendly. They’d probably bite you,” Cas said.
“It’s just a kids’ rhyme, it doesn’t have to make sense,” Dean said. “C’mon, pick a room.”
Sam reached into a pocket, pulling out a quarter. “Here. Heads, you take this one,” Sam pointed at the one next to him, “tails you take that one.” The one next to Dean’s room. Cas nodded, breathing a quick sigh of relief. And if he used his grace to nudge the coin so it landed heads, well, he was fairly certain neither Winchester would notice.
“Great, that’s settled,” Dean said. He opened the door. “What do you wanna do to it?”
“I don’t know. What does one… do… when claiming a room?” Castiel looked around. To be honest, it didn’t look that much different from Sam’s room. Dean’s had photographs, weapons, and other things all over the walls and desk.
“Well, you could rearrange the furniture if you wanted,” Sam suggested. “Or replace the bedding with something that hasn’t been closed up in an underground room for seventy years. Put up some decorations. Get a TV. Move some books in here.”
“I would like to replace the bedding,” Castiel decided. “Where would I put a TV?”
“Depends what kind you get, but probably wanna get one that hangs on the wall,” Dean said. “Me and Sam can put that up easily enough.”
“Sounds like we’re going shopping,” Sam said.
Shopping was never Cas’s idea of a good time. Shopping with the Winchesters sounded like a recipe for disaster. Especially since Dean had decided to make it his goal to get Sam to buy some decorations for his room, too. “Okay. Sam, you and Cas go figure out blankets and stuff. I’m going to look at TVs.”
“Why do you get to ditch us?” Sam asked.
Dean grinned. “I’m doing you a favor. You really want me around when you’re trying to find sheets for Cas? I’ll come if you really want, but I don’t wanna see that look when I suggest the unicorn and rainbow sheets.” Sam glared at Dean. “See? That’s the one. That look, right there.”
“It probably is for the best,” Castiel said softly to Sam.
“Point made. Go. Find a good TV.” Sam waved Dean away.
“Unicorns and rainbows are bad?” Castiel asked.
Sam shrugged. “If that’s what you want, go for it. But those are generally aimed at young girls. It’s not like anyone but us will likely ever see them, but it would set Dean up with everything he needed to tease you forever.”
“I see. Do you have any suggestions?” Cas looked around at the selection. He had no idea where to start.
“Do you really care what they look like, or are you more interested in how they feel?” Sam asked.
Finally, an easy question. “How they feel.”
“Okay. Then walk around and touch the samples. When you find one you like, we can go from there,” Sam said.
Cas obeyed. That didn’t seem too hard. Sam stayed with him, occasionally offering advice and suggestions. Eventually, Cas found the one that felt the best to him. Very soft, very smooth without being slippery. “I like these. What’s the next step?”
Sam shrugged. “Do you have a favorite color?”
“I…” Cas considered. He wasn’t about to say what he really thought, that his favorite color shifted too frequently to be truly captured in fabric. He looked at the wall, with the stacks of various colors. One of the available colors was a light green, with darker green stripes. “I like green.”
“Should’ve guessed that,” Sam muttered under his breath, but he put two sets of the green sheets into the cart. “Okay, let’s go look at blankets.”
Cas hadn’t been looking at blankets long when he made his decision. “This one.” It was perfect. Soft, softer even than the sheets, somewhat fuzzy, very fluffy, and a beautiful, rich brown.
Sam came over to look at it. “Wow. That… is not what I was expecting when you made up your mind that quickly. I like it,” he hastened to reassure Cas when he noticed the disappointment.
Castiel ran his hand over the blanket. “I’m getting this one. What’s next?”
“Should probably find another one, just in case,” Sam said. “I know you don’t usually get cold, but you also don’t usually sleep, so it’s worth thinking about.”
“I can’t just get two of these?”
Sam laughed. “That wouldn’t be what most people would do, but hey, they’re your blankets. You like it that much, get two.”
“This is very complicated,” Castiel said. “Who knew there were such complicated rules about blankets?”
“I know. The general rule is you get one thick one, like this, and then one thinner one, like those.” Sam pointed to a shelf of cotton blankets. “But hey. I mean it. You want two of these, get two of these.”
Cas wandered over to look at the other blankets. There was one that was a green similar to the green of his sheets. He took that one back to the cart and looked questioningly at Sam when he noticed the second brown blanket and a black one.
“The black one’s for me. Dean said to get some things for myself, and I like it. And I figured may as well get an extra of the brown blanket, just in case something happens to one that we can’t wash or fix. It happens, sometimes.”
“Oh. Thank you.” Castiel set his green blanket in the cart.
Pillows, too, turned out to be more complicated than Castiel had ever thought. With pillows chosen and secured, Sam leaned against the cart. “Should’ve heard from Dean by now. How long does it take to find a good TV?”
“I don’t know,” Castiel said. “If it’s anything like our assignment, though, probably a much longer time than I would guess.”
“Yeah, probably,” Sam acknowledged. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Dean. “So, um… I don’t really have anything in the way of decorations in my room, and I don’t know how to help you with that because it’s not something I’ve ever thought about.”
“I know. I guess we’ll just have to figure it out, though. Since Dean is still on his job.” Castiel started over to where the store had some small statues, Sam behind him. He didn’t really think he’d find anything, but he figured he might as well look through. Sam followed, stopping in front of a couple things to look.
“Dean’s on his way, and he said to make you pick something for no purpose other than decoration,” Sam said as Castiel examined a figure of a cat. “Far as I’m concerned he can go to hell, but I figured I’d pass along the message.”
“Did he give you the same order?” Castiel set the cat down and continued to look.
Sam laughed. “Yeah. Three times now. I’m planning to ignore it unless I find something that I’d have bought anyway.”
“I see.” Castiel went back to looking at the artwork. Most of it was completely forgettable, but then he turned a corner and discovered a bin full of soft animal-shaped things. Right on top was the fattest, fluffiest bumblebee Castiel had ever seen. Nearby was a soft brown dog that Castiel couldn’t help picking up to hold. Beside the dog was a lighter-colored cat with brilliant green eyes. Cas took all three animals back to where Sam was.
When Sam saw him approaching, he pulled one of the blankets in the cart toward him. He grinned when he saw what Cas had. “I love them. Probably should’ve gone straight to the stuffed animals, given that you seem to like soft things.”
“Dean will approve?” Castiel said, setting the animals in the cart carefully.
“Approve of what?” Dean said. He looked at the stuffed animals. “Well, they are decorative. Not exactly what I had in mind, but not my room.”
“Good. Think we’re done here, then. Just gotta check out. I got that, if you want to take Cas out and show off the TV,” Sam offered.
“You got money?” Dean said.
Sam nodded. “Yeah. Go on.”
Cas followed Dean outside, uncertain what exactly Dean was supposed to show him. Dean led him to the Impala. “Okay. Don’t tell Sam, this is a secret. First, your TV. That you can tell Sam about.” Dean pointed to the massive box strapped to the top of the car. He listened as Dean rambled on about the features of the television, very little of which meant anything to Cas. “Right. So this is the part you can’t tell Sam about yet.” Dean pulled a box out from under the back seat. “His birthday’s coming up in a few days, so I bought him a fancy new laptop tablet hybrid thing. Went ahead and got one for you, too.”
“Thank you?”
“You want it when we set up everything else, or after I give Sam his so he doesn’t get all jealous?” Dean asked. “He’s been wanting one of these since he saw Charlie’s.”
“I’m sorry about Charlie. I should have…” Cas started.
Dean smacked the back of Cas’s head. “Don’t. Everyone involved in that made mistakes, including me and Charlie. And Rowena, I assume, although hell if I know what those were. It’s not the only time we’ve made mistakes and gotten family killed. Hopefully it’s the last, but that ain’t how our lives work, is it. Tablet: now or later?”
“Later.” Castiel shoved the box back under the seat. “I wouldn’t be able to keep the secret if I were faced with Sam’s jealousy.”
There was a strange sound, almost a choking noise, behind them. Sam was approaching with the cart, and had apparently heard some of the conversation. Cas hoped it wasn’t enough to spoil Dean’s surprise. Dean looked awkwardly at Cas, and then up at Sam. “Hey! Um. Need a hand getting that crammed into the trunk?”
“I think I got it,” Sam said. “You two, uh… do whatever it was you were doing?”
“Okay.” Dean went for the driver’s seat of the Impala and started looking through his cassette collection.
Cas went to help Sam. At the very least, he could hand Sam things. Sam had already moved a couple of things into the trunk, and when he saw Cas, he very quickly tugged the nearest blanket over one of the bags. He looked curiously at Sam, but Sam ignored it. “Sam? Are you all right?”
“Huh?” Sam looked up from where he was packing in blankets. “Yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?”
“You’re… never mind,” Castiel decided. He didn’t have a way to explain why he thought something was bothering Sam. He couldn’t quite explain it to himself. “I just thought something might be bothering you. You know I’m here for you, if you need to talk about something, right?”
“Yeah, Cas, I know,” Sam said. “But really, I’m fine. I’m happy. I’m alive, Dean’s alive, you’re alive, and the world’s not ending. When was the last time I could say all four of those things?”
“That year you were without your soul?” Cas suggested. “Although I don’t know if that should count, considering that your soul was in Hell. Were you truly alive then?”
Sam laughed. “Good question. And of course before that, you were alive, but you weren’t here. Dean and I didn’t know you until the world was headed for the end.”
“Yes. I suppose depending on how you count Dean’s resurrection as a demon…” Cas said.
“You were dying as your stolen grace burned out and Dean was a demon. Doesn’t count,” Sam said immediately. “Even when we got Dean back, you were still dying and Dean had the Mark hanging over him. How’s this: I’m human, Dean’s human, you’re alive, and there’s nothing hanging over us threatening to change that.”
“That we know of, anyway,” Castiel said. “It still seems an extremely low bar for happiness, though.”
“Yeah, well, when you consider that for most of my adult life I couldn’t even clear that… can you blame me for setting the bar low?” Sam took the stuffed cat from Cas, but when he saw what it was, he handed it back to Cas. “Here, hold on to this. Dean’s gonna make fun of me, and I probably should have grown out of it, but I always hated it when Dad made me put my stuffed animals in the trunk.”
“Then we’ll keep all three out.” Castiel picked up the dog as well. “Dean is driving and probably wouldn’t hold one even if he weren’t, but there are three of them and I only have two hands. Would you mind holding the bee for me?”
“Sure.” Sam headed off to put the cart up.
When Cas got in the car, Dean rolled his eyes. “Sam’s idea?”
“Yes. But I agree with him, animals do not belong in the trunk,” Castiel said.
“They’re stuffed. They’re not real. They don’t need to breathe and they’re not gonna get too hot and die,” Dean said.
“So you sided with your father?”
“Kind of depended,” Dean said. “I dunno, maybe I should’ve picked one side and stuck with it, but Sam was a really sensitive kid. If he was happier with a stuffed pig in his lap, what the hell was it hurting? On the other hand, with Dad, obedience was a big deal and Sam didn’t need the pig. So which side I took just depended on whether I was better able to deal with Sam sulking or Dad simmering.”
Sam came back then, settling in the front seat with the bee on his lap. “Let’s go.”
Back at the Bunker, Sam disappeared with his new blanket and a bag hidden underneath it. Castiel helped Dean carry the TV down the stairs and to the bedroom he’d chosen. “Hey. What’s in the bag that Sam doesn’t want me to see?” Dean asked.
“I don’t know,” Castiel said. “He’s kept it hidden from me, too.”
“Huh. Weird. Thought Sam told you everything.” Dean set the box down. “Okay, your choices here are help me put this up or go get the rest of the stuff. If you get everything else, tell me where you want this.”
“Sam tells you more than he tells me.” Cas considered momentarily as he looked around the room. He pointed to the wall out to the hallway. “There. Minimum running of cable.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dean got to work getting the TV box open.
Cas met Sam at the car, sorting through what needed to go in. Nothing they’d bought was particularly heavy, but there was too much for them to carry in one trip. “I can get the rest, if Dean needs your help,” Sam offered.
“Dean?” Castiel looked over to where Dean sat reading the instruction manual.
Dean looked up. “Gonna need you in a bit. May have to draft you, too, Sammy, just to make sure we’re getting this lined up straight. But you’re good for now.”
Cas followed Sam back up to the car, where they gathered up the last of the new supplies. When they got back, Sam looked around. “Everything where you want it, or do you want to move some furniture around before we get started putting the bed together?”
“Everything’s fine. The bed is in a comfortable spot for watching television, and other than that, nothing matters,” Cas said. “Unless you have suggestions?”
“Nah. Just thought I’d ask.” Sam picked up the sheets. “I’m gonna run these through the wash, back in a bit.”
“Well, it’s a start,” Dean said as he looked around Cas’s room. Everything was done. Bed was made, TV was hung and connected, Sam had hacked into the cable system and gotten it officially added, and the stuffed animals were chilling on the desk. “Should call Jody and get her to send a picture of Claire, maybe.”
“It would be nice to have a recent picture of her.” Castiel sat on his bed. That felt weird to think about. He had his own bed. “Thank you both for this. It’s nice to have a home again.”
“We should’ve done this years ago,” Sam said.
Dean nodded. “I’m headed back into town to get dinner, too tired to cook anything. Pizza okay with you, Sam?”
Sam burst into laughter. Dean shot him a what-the-fuck? look, and Cas was just as confused. “Sorry, just remembering something. Meg. Yeah, Dean, pizza sounds great.”
“Meg?” Castiel asked as soon as Dean was gone.
“Yeah, come on, you don’t remember? Moving furniture around, the pizza man…?” And now Cas did remember. “I’m sorry you never got the chance. Too much history for me to have ever actually liked her or trusted her, but I believed her when she was talking about you.”
“It’s my fault. I may well have had a chance if I hadn’t betrayed you and Dean and taken off with the tablet. I’m a little surprised you remember the pizza man, though.”
Sam shrugged. “I remember a lot of random stuff. That one stands out because I was actually sorry Meg died, even though I swore I’d never get attached to another demon, after Ruby.”
“What about Crowley?” Cas asked.
Sam huffed. “That one is all Dean. I’d have killed him years ago if it weren’t for Dean’s bizarre relationship with the guy.”
“Crowley has been… useful,” Castiel had to admit. He turned on his TV, logging in to NetFlix.
Sam pulled the chair over to sit beside the bed. “You know, I’m kind of gonna miss having you watching in my room. Maybe it’s silly, but I liked having you around. I’m still not used to being by myself when I sleep. Until we moved into the Bunker, the only times that had ever happened are when Dean and I weren’t speaking to each other or he was dead or in Purgatory.”
“The lights didn’t distract you?” Castiel said.
“Nah, I grew up with that. And unlike Dean, or Brady – even before he got possessed, I liked the guy but he was kind of horrible to live with. They never bothered with turning the volume down.” Sam chuckled. “And again unlike Dean and Brady, I was never afraid I’d wake up to find you watching porn. Dean scarred me for life when I was, like, twelve. I heard him… uh… anyway, I thought something had broken in the room and was hurting him, so I woke up and grabbed my gun to back him up. Nope.”
“Is that when Dean instituted the rule of not watching porn with other guys in the room?” Castiel asked.
“I have no idea. He doesn’t apply that rule to me, apparently. I mean, he won’t start it if I’m there and awake, but if I come in or wake up while he’s watching, he doesn’t shut it off unless I make him.”
“And then he wonders why people believe the two of you…”
“I know, right?” Sam shook his head fondly.
Cas found the show he’d been watching – Gilmore Girls – and started the next episode. “Have you seen this show?”
Sam glanced up. “I saw a couple episodes a long time ago, at Stanford. First fight I had with Jess was when she heard me telling Becky Warren that I thought the character Jess was a self-absorbed asshat. Once she realized I didn’t mean her, she calmed down, and eventually she thought it was hilarious, but in the moment she was so pissed.”
“There’s a character named Dean who looks a bit like you.”
“Yeah, I remember Becky thought that, too,” Sam said with a grin. “It’s why she kept wanting me to watch it with her, and why I refused. Too painful, with me and Dean on such bad terms.”
It wasn’t long before Sam moved from the chair to sit on the bed with Cas. Sam checked his phone when the episode ended. “Wonder what’s keeping Dean.”
“I don’t know. Maybe the pizza place was busy?”
“Could be. Fine by me, this is good,” Sam said.
Dean stuck his head in when the second episode was almost over. “You two safe to be around yet?”
“The hell does that mean, Dean?” Sam asked before Cas could.
“Are you done christening the room?”
Now Cas was even more confused. As was Sam, who shook his head quickly. “I can’t have heard that right. What?”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Christening, blessing, whatever you wanna call it. All taken care of? There’s only so long I could stall without letting the pizza get cold.”
“You thought… we were performing some kind of religious…?” Castiel started.
Sam dropped his head into his hands. “That’s not what he means, Cas. I have no idea where the hell he got the idea, but he thought we were in here having sex.”
Cas could feel his eyes widening. “Why?”
“It’s kind of a tradition when a couple first moves in together,” Dean said, not answering Cas’s question at all. “Kinda figured you two would take advantage of the time alone.”
“You think Sam and I are a couple?” Castiel was less confused now. But more afraid.
Dean snorted. “Dunno why you haven’t gotten around to telling me, but, yeah, not stupid or unobservant over here.”
Sam finally picked his head up, staring at his brother in disbelief. “Dean, we’re not…”
“Sammy, don’t insult me, and for the love of god I thought we’d agreed to stop lying to each other!”
“I’m not lying, and I’m not insulting you… although if you keep this up, I may have to. Cas can do way better than me, if he wants someone in his life like that.”
“No, I can’t,” Castiel said. “You’re backwards.”
Dean chuckled and shook his head. “See? You two. Do you have any idea how nauseating it is being around you two making heart eyes at each other?”
“Dean, if we were together, why would I go through all the trouble of setting Cas up in his own room instead of just inviting him to share mine?” Sam said.
“You tell me. Any time he spends the night, he’s in your room.” Dean held up a finger. “And don’t tell me because that’s where the NetFlix is, because I have it in my room too, and I know Cas knows that and knows that I wouldn’t give a damn if he came in to watch, because I told him that.”
“Sam’s room is familiar. It’s where I went when I was hurt. I know what I can do without disturbing Sam’s sleep. And Sam has never told me it’s creepy having me around while he’s sleeping,” Castiel said quickly. “But if I’m going to be here every night, then I should have my own room.”
“I don’t mind you being in my room, Cas. I told you, I sleep better with you there because it’s still so weird being alone in my room. And it’s kind of nice having you there when I wake up from nightmares.”
“See?” Dean said, waving a hand at Sam. “He loves you, you love him, don’t either of you even try to argue with me because I can start giving you a list of a million reasons I came to that conclusion. Don’t make me lock you in here until you talk to each other.”
“Cas?” Sam looked up at Castiel, and the hopeful look warring with the doubt and fear in his eyes was just so familiar. Castiel had seen it on a much younger Sam, once. The first time he’d met Sam. One of his biggest regrets was the way he’d crushed that hope so thoughtlessly and thoroughly. He couldn’t watch that hope die again.
Cas reached out, very gently brushing Sam’s hair back off his face. “Yes.”
Sam shot up and wrapped Cas up in a giant hug. “Remind me to kill Dean.”
“What for? It might not have been the most tactful method, but it was effective,” Castiel said as he hugged back.
“He could’ve done this months ago.”
Dean cleared his throat. “Sorry for assuming that you’re a grown-ass man who can talk to your crush all on your own, Samantha.”
“Shut up,” Sam said. He let go of Cas, but reached down to take his hand. “The pizza’s getting cold.”
Dean disappeared into his bedroom as soon as the pizza was gone. Sam and Cas sat staring across the table at each other. “So, um… seems kind of silly to have gone to all the trouble of setting up your room if you’re never going to use it,” Sam said.
“Sam?”
The words spilled out of Sam. “Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
Cas smiled as he reached across the table to take Sam’s hands. “Of course. I would love to have you there.” He looked over his shoulder where Dean had disappeared, then back to Sam. “Do you want to… ‘christen’ it?”
Cas was pretty sure he had the answer in the way Sam’s entire face lit up as he smiled. “Do you?”
“Yes.” Somehow, Sam’s face got even brighter. It was almost like staring directly at a human soul. “Come on.”
Much later, as Cas stroked Sam's hair, he remembered something. He checked to make sure Sam was awake before asking, "Sam?"
"Yeah?" Sam looked up at him.
"Can I ask what you bought that you didn't want me or Dean to know about?" Sam buried his face in Cas's chest, so Cas quickly added, "You don't have to answer."
"No, it's okay." Sam looked up again, biting his lip to stop the laughter. "I'd kind of gotten used to having an angel watching over me as I slept, so I bought this really stupid angel statuette. Not nearly as good as the real thing, but it would remind me of having you there. Dean's going to tease me about it forever, and I didn't want to either offend you or have to explain..."
"I see." Castiel bent down and kissed the top of Sam's head. "Would you like to know why I chose the blanket?"
"I'm a little scared, now. But yes."
Castiel pulled the blanket up to where Sam's hair brushed against it. "The blanket, I'm allowed to touch."
"Ha! Don't tell Dean. He'd never let either of us hear the end of it." Sam snuggled back into Cas. "I love you."