"You've got to be kidding me, Sam." Dean looked down at the list in front of him. "It is Thanksgiving. You gotta have turkey or at least ham." He looked up at Sam, pure exasperation on display in every facet of his features.

"Amelia is a vegetarian." Sam explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "You might be too if you worked with animals all day. She spends all day fixing them. Probably feels weird to carve into one on a holiday plate."

"Well, you said that this is a new thing, so maybe she can go along with the turkey for just one more holiday, give me a year to figure out how to cook…" Dean ran his finger under an unfamiliar word on Sam's list and tried to sound it out. "Cee Tan?" He ended on a note that sounded like a question.

"Satan." Sam enunciated the word seitan for Dean. "It's a wheat gluten based protein. I figured you could roast it or something. There's a bunch of recipes online for it, and it tastes a lot like meat." Dean was looking at him with doubt plainly written on his face. Sam added, "Work your magic. I'm sure seitan will be no match for you."

"Hmm, not feeling it Sammy. Kinda seems wrong having seitan at the family supper. It's just not tradition, plus seitan. I feel dirty just saying it." Dean started rummaging around and plucked up his keys and jacket. "Where do I even buy this stuff?"

Sam perked up, seeming to realize that he had just won. "Oh, you can totally get it over at the natural foods co-op. It's over on Sixth." He smiled, likely hoping that the destination wouldn't give Dean yet another reason to fight this.

Dean groaned. "Seriously, the co-op?" He groaned again. "What has possessed you? You use to be cool. Now you are sending me to some hippie store for you and your hippie girlfriend."

"Love you too, Dean." Sam laughed a little as Dean started moving out of the kitchen.

"Seeing as it is Thanksgiving, you all better appreciate me. I take thanks in pie-shaped payments. There will be many pies."

Dean was nearly out the door when Sam called after him, "You get one pie, maybe two. This is barely a challenge for you." The door closed between them and Dean was so gone.

"Where the hell would one even find this shit?" He half muttered to himself as he scoured the shelves near the bread. It made sense in his head, since Sam had said that it was a wheat based product. He had been muttering out curses and damnation upon all things vegetarian for the past five minutes. "Fucking hippie bread, with hippie seeds. Where the hell are you seitan? Damn seitan." Having moved up and down the aisle a whole two more times without finding what he was looking for, Dean huffed out, "Damnit, why'd I sign up for this?"

"Can I help you find something?" A pleasant, low voice interrupted his stormy mutterings.

Dean looked up at the voice, ready to issue a quick retort, something like, No, just looking for goddamn seitan. His words choked him though. Standing before him was a man that was not quite human. At least Dean didn't think that he was. How could he be? That is some kind of gorgeous. The man stood just a few feet away, thick mop of deep brown hair framing a face that was half innocent, half mischievous all at once. The eyes were the final straw though, blue in a way that was a crisp summer sky on a hot August day. Dean felt himself getting sucked into what could only be viewed as open mouthed staring before he finally said, "Uh, I don't know. I think that I might be beyond help at this point."

"What are you looking for?" The man took another step closer to Dean and tipped his head to the side in a gesture that signified contemplation.

"Seitan." Dean felt weird even saying it.

"Well, that explains your many uses of the word damn and hell. I should have come over to help you sooner." He laughed at Dean and moved past him with a wave of his hand. "Follow me."

And Dean did follow him. He followed him in a kind of hangdog way. His eyes trailed along the view in front of him with each step. He was following muscles and a trim build. He was following shoulders broad and used to some heavy lifting. He was following at just barely a step behind when the man came to an abrupt stop. Dean ran into him a little. "Oh, sorry." Dean stepped back quickly into his own space.

The man turned to Dean with a smile. "No worries." He turned back to the refrigerator case and pointed at the many items showcased there. "So, here is the seitan." He lifted up a package and handed it to Dean. "If you don't like that though, there is also tempeh, here." He pointed to another package. "Or over on the end is good old-fashioned tofu. We have a few flavors too. Some of them are smoked or packaged with sauces. All of them are pretty good." Dean watched his movements. There was an ease, a grace to the way his hands moved as he pointed out the various items.

Dean realized that a question had been asked, but he didn't hear it. He was too mesmerized by non-verbal things. "Uh, sorry, what'd ya ask?"

"I was just asking what you planned to make with the seitan?" The man had his thumbs tucked into his work apron. He leaned back a little into the edge of the refrigerator case, balancing there in the cool.

"I have no clue. My brother has a vegetarian girlfriend and I am cooking the Thanksgiving feast. He suggested the seitan. I'm supposed to" and Dean threw up some air quotes, "work my magic."

"Ah, well, at least you have a few days to practice first. It isn't the kind of thing that appeals to everybody, but it will take on the flavors of whatever you add to it. It's a little like tofu in that way."

"Haven't had that either. More of a burger and fry kind of guy. This is way outside of my wheelhouse." Dean flipped the package of seitan over in his hands and read the back. There was a little story about the origins of said seitan, and Dean huffed out a laugh as he made his way through it. "Seriously, this is not real. People buy this as a joke, right?"

"Nope. Totally legit product." The man laughed a little. Then he tapped his name tag. "Name's Cas. If you need anything, just give me a holler." He pushed off from the case that he had been leaning on and strode past Dean back to the front of the store. Dean weighed his options. He reached down and plucked up the tempeh. He flipped it over and read the back. It had a stupid little origin story too. He looked back at the other package and muttered, "Better the devil you know, or met first, or something." He put the tempeh back and headed for the front of the store.

Cas was the only one manning the checkout. There was an elderly woman with a handful of canvas bags and a crapton of everything laid out on the counter. There wasn't a conveyor belt to move it along. Cas looked up at Dean while he was ringing up the purchases, giving him a sympathetic eyebrow raise. It was a look that said, sorry, and wow you sure are unlucky. Dean just smiled back though, and occupied himself with a random magazine from the rack. Time passed slowly, and the magazine was dull. He put it back as the lady began bagging her groceries. She moved slowly, but Cas was helping her. "You always work alone here?" Dean asked.

"Only on the weeknights. It keeps me from having to work the weekends." Cas answered as he scooped up some of the lady's produce and plopped it into a bag.

"Be careful. You'll bruise my peaches." She looked at him with a stern gaze.

"Sorry ma'am. I'll be more careful." He caught Dean's eyes though and they shared a bit of non-verbal communication.

"Does it ever get busy here?" Dean was not sure why he was trying to chat Cas up, but he chalked it up to boredom, or maybe just a little attraction, or maybe just a lot.

"This is about as busy as it gets."

"Bet it gets kinda boring then." Dean put his package of seitan on the counter now that there was space for it.

"I don't mind. Gives me time to catch up on my reading." He nodded over to the large textbook next to the register. Dean tipped his head to read the spine. Religions, and Cultural Identity.

"Can't say I've read that one." Cas finally finished the bagging and offered to help the lady to her car. Thankfully, she declined. Now he turned his full attention to Dean.

"So, you have any thoughts on how you will cook this?" Cas raised the package up and scanned it. One tiny beep and then the package was set aside.

"Not a blessed clue. I might slice it and roast it." Dean watched Cas' face for approval and got none.

"It'll be dry. It'll be like eating a dune that has been sunshine soaked all summer. You don't want to do that unless you have a sauce or something. You have a sauce?"

"Nope. I'm a decent cook though. I'm sure I can figure something out." Dean was trying to sound confident. "Not sure I'll know if I have figured it out though. I honestly don't know what good seitan actually tastes like. Is there such a thing?" Dean chuckled a little and reached back to pull out his wallet.

"I've had good seitan. It's not my go to meat substitute, but yeah. There is a little place downtown that does BBQ. They actually have seitan on their menu for the vegetarians that get dragged their by their carnivore friends. It's quite good."

"Only BBQ place I know is Ash's place." Dean set a ten on the counter and Cas picked it up and made change.

"That's the place. So, you've been there?" Cas passed him the change and their fingers brushed a little with the exchange.

"Ash and I are old friends. Didn't know he went to the hippie dark side." Dean made his joke then realized where he was. "Oh, sorry, no offence."

"None taken. I go there for the brisket, not the seitan, but gotta say, it was damn good." Cas lifted the seitan up onto the counter and added, "If you want to see how it should taste, I'd try out Ash's version. Come to think of it, I might just head out there tonight. Talking about it has given me a hankering for it."

"A hankering? Do people really use that word?" Dean laughed again.

"When speaking of BBQ one must bring out the language of the BBQ people." Cas stared at Dean with his head tilted again, like he had before. Dean wondered what he was thinking but didn't ask; he just stared back.

"Well, guess I'll be getting out of your hair. See ya around." He stepped away from the counter and as he was leaving, nearly knocked over a rack of free rental magazines. He caught it, though, before it went flying. Smooth, Dean. He chided himself. Smooth.

He drove back to the house with a grin on his face. That is, he was smiling until he thought about it too much. He thought about how he sounded, how he basically made fun of vegetarians, and then he thought of nearly knocking over the magazine stand on his way out. He was not smiling when he got home. He shut off the car and went directly inside and to the kitchen. The house was empty. There was a note from Sam on the counter saying something about going to Amelia's for the evening, and not to wait up.

Dean tossed the note back onto the counter and then put the seitan into the fridge. He fired up the laptop on the dining room table and looked up some recipes. None of them sounded appealing to him. He was pretty sure that he was just biased. The fake chicken wings recipe wasn't so bad sounding. He thought that if he just substituted chicken for the seitan, it might be perfect. A few hours into his research and his stomach gave up a mighty growl. Dean gave his gut a little punch, closed up the laptop, and wandered over to the fridge. He peered down into it and considered his meal options. The seitan sat there, mocking him. He closed the door with a decisive flick of the wrist.

BBQ. He thought about Ash's place and a big ole pile of brisket. Ash learned his craft in Texas. He knew just how to draw out the flavor. He smoked everything and made his own sauces. Dean decided then and there to head on into town for dinner. And if co-op dude happened to be there, well that wouldn't be bad either.

The Impala rolled through the twilight glow on Main St. Ash's place had a neon sign burning bright, proclaiming that it was BBQ Time. Dean found a spot right up front. He shut the car off and trudged inside. He had considered getting the seitan, but he was hungry. He didn't think that he wanted to feed that hunger something so unsatisfying. He saw Ash behind the counter chatting with someone. Dean gave him a little wave.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Dean, you were getting to be a virtual stranger." Ash came around to the other side of the counter and gave Dean a hug.

"It hasn't been that long." Dean shrugged.

"I've seen Sam more recently than you. Ya know he is trying to be a vegetarian?" Ash wrinkled his nose a little.

"Nah, his girlfriend is. Sam still digs the flesh of dead animals." Dean laughed.

"Nope, buddy. You're in denial. He totally was the one that got me to add some of the vegetarian items on the menu." Ash motioned Dean over to the counter. "Sit. Let me get you a beer and some brisket."

Dean took the seat and it was then that he noticed the familiar face of the man sitting at the counter a couple of stools away. "Oh, hey there." Dean faltered a little.

"Hey yourself." Cas swiveled around a little. "Gonna try the seitan?" Cas had a little smirk curling up the edge of his lip like he understood something of the situation that was soaring right over Dean's head.

"Nah, Ash is already getting me some brisket. I wouldn't want to trouble him." Dean didn't add that the idea of eating seitan seemed wholly unappealing right now.

Cas called out to the back, though, "Hey Ash, Dean here wants to try the seitan. You already dishing up his brisket?"

Ash's head popped up over the order window to the kitchen. "Really?" He looked to Dean.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I'm supposed to prepare it for Sam and Amelia for Thanksgiving. Cas here suggested that I try yours out so that I would know how to make it right." Dean could feel his mouth drying up with the thought that he wasn't going to be getting his brisket.

"Oh, you two know each other. Cool. Yeah, Cas here has said that it is pretty damn good." Ash dropped back out of view and the clang of utensils could be heard.

"So, I hope you're happy. I was really looking forward to the brisket." Dean gave Cas a sidelong glance.

Ash strolled out with a plate and slipped it onto the counter in front of Cas. Dean stared at it with an open mouth. "Looks great, Ash. Thanks."

"Seriously?" Dean glanced from one to the other. "Seriously?" Cas scooped out a forkful of meat and popped it into his mouth, smiling around the bite.

"Damn good, Ash." He muttered around the mouthful.

"I thought that you were getting the seitan too. Now I gotta eat seitan and smell your awesome food. This is torture." Dean looked at Ash and said, "At least give me that beer you promised.

Ash pulled a beer out of the fridge and popped the cap. He slid it over to Dean and strolled back into his kitchen again. Cas just kept munching away. Every now and then he would make little moans of contentment around a bite.

Dean drummed on the counter with his fingertips. "You enjoying that?"

"So much." Cas answered with a wave of his fork, meat speared and ready for eating. He popped the meat into his mouth and Dean watched the move. He thought about the way his mouth curled around the fork, a hint of tongue and teeth visible for just a moment. Dean knew he was staring. He didn't break the gaze. Cas seemed to be enjoying the bit of torment that he was inflicting. "You certainly do stare a lot." Cas turned to Dean a little. "See something you like?"

Dean wasn't sure how to answer. Yes. So much. "So much brisket." He kicked himself a little. Blown opportunity. Ash came out then and slid a plate over to Dean.

"So, tell me what you think." Ash leaned back a bit and watched Dean poke at the seitan.

He finally decided to slice into a piece and run it through some of the BBQ sauce that was pooled up on the plate. He slowly moved a piece from the plate to his lips. He glanced over at Cas, thinking that maybe this would be the last thing he would see, and it would be nice to have a gorgeous vision before death via seitan. He ate the seitan, and it was okay. "Hmm, not bad."

"Yeah, I know it's not the meat, but kinda good huh?" Ash nodded down at the dish and then walked back off to the kitchen again.

"So, you like it?" Cas asked when Ash was out of the room.

"It's fine." Dean ate another bite. "Better than I thought that it would be. It's likely the BBQ sauce. That stuff could be used as currency." Dean munched on another bite.

"Tried to tell you it was good." Cas speared a chunk of brisket and brought it over to Dean's plate. He set it on the edge. "Here."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Dean tried to look like he meant it, but he was actually doing a poor job of conveying that emotion. He really wanted it.

"Take it, Dean." Cas smiled and finished off the last couple of bites of his own food. Dean made short work of his own meal and what Cas had given him. Cas swiveled back and forth in the seat, smiling down at his drink and over at Dean.

"You certainly do stare a lot." Dean rolled his lip up into a smirk. "See something you like."

Cas laughed at that, a melodious deep laugh. He slid his empty plate over to the space next to Dean's. He moved over to the seat next to Dean. His leg brushed up against his and Dean could feel the heat of Cas just radiating toward him. He was doing his best to curb his enthusiasm. He had been bold, but that was the sort of thing that he might normally do in a moment only to end with a joke or some light-hearted banter. This was different. The little silence, the closing of the distance, the uncertainty. He wasn't even sure if it had been flirting. Well, he knew that his efforts had been flirtatious, but Cas, now that was a different story. He was close, though, very close. Seems like a signal.

He waited for Cas to speak again, because he didn't want to ruin the moment. Cas didn't say anything, just kept on sitting there, moving a little back and forth in the swiveling seat, making their bodies brush with each move. Dean finally set his fork down. He realized that he was gripping it like a weapon. It was nerves. It made him look viscous though. "So, uh, yeah." Smooth. He beat himself up again.

"So, was that an answer to my question from earlier?" Cas swiveled a little more toward him, and his leg rested against Dean's.

Dean had to think about what he said. He was actually trying to jumpstart a conversation, but failed a little. It hadn't really been a response to anything Cas had said, but then he thought about the question that he had jokingly thrown back at Cas, See something you like? He felt heat spreading over his face. He didn't want to shut this down though. "Maybe." Dean gulped down a swallow of beer to give his mouth some sort of occupation. He let his eyes fall on Cas, brow raised in a type of question.

Cas reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed down a few bucks and then leaned over the counter looking down at the little lower shelf on the other side. He found a pen and picked it up. There was a little box of napkins in front of Dean. Cas reached over and pulled one out. He wrote his name on it and, under that, a phone number. "It would probably be more reasonable if I just texted you or typed my number into your cell phone contacts, but I left my phone in my car, and I don't want to presume too much. This way, if you change your mind, you can just leave this behind or toss it, no useless info. cluttering up your phone." Cas set the pen down and slid the napkin over to Dean.

Dean was frozen for a second. Cas just smiled and got up. He eased out of the seat, gave Dean a little wave, called out a goodbye to Ash, and then he was walking out the door. Dean was still frozen. Snap out of it Winchester. His brain was practically screaming at him. He reached into his pocket and added the information. He realized then that he did not know Cas' last name. He put in what he had and then sent out a quick message. I don't know your last name.

A few seconds passed and the reply came through. Novak. A few seconds later a second message showed up. Is the last name important?

I like to know the last name and the first name of the guy I plan to ask over for dinner. Dean felt a little warm nugget of pride with the effort that he had just made. There was no denying that this was flirting.

Cas responded. Well, that was fast. I thought that you would let me live in a world of wonder for 24 hours. Was that even a full minute?

Dean laughed and answered, Well, I guess that I could always take it back if you want. And, just so you know, it was a full three minutes. I had to process the fact that you actually just gave me your number.

No take backs. When are you having me over?

Tomorrow. Unless that's too soon.

There was a pause of a few seconds during which time Dean gave his phone a piercing glare. Then Cas' message came through, Tomorrow would be great. What're we having?

Seitan. Gotta have somebody act as my guinea pig. ;) I'll text you the details tomorrow.

Wicked. See you tomorrow then.

Dean felt damn good. He gave Ash a wave. He tossed down a few bucks for the bill, and headed out the door on a whistle, his head full of plans. He maybe hated seitan just a little less now. The night was full of stars as he walked to his car. His head was full of thoughts that were blue-eyed and brown tousled hair. Ash turned off the neon sign in his wake, but the world ahead seemed bright and filled with promise even in the night.

Review, Fav., Rec.

AN: Hope you liked it. I was trying to be light. It was supposed to be a short ficlet, but it ended up being a little long. Sorry not sorry.