In which Dean has completely 'platonic' thoughts about his friend's hipbones.

featuring Mothering Sam and Chef Kevin.

Chapter 3

Castiel was confused.

The shower at April's house was a simply knob which turned left or right, depending on the temperature one desired. It was his first time taking a shower in the bunker and he had confidently brushed off Dean's offer to start it off for him.

He was an ex angel of the lord, overcoming a multitude of obstacles over many millennia; he was more than capable of starting a shower on his own.

Or so he thought.

He had discarded his clothes and as per Sam's instructions, left them outside so he could throw them in the wash. Now he was cold and the several attempts he had made at running himself a bath were leaving him increasingly frustrated.

Castiel stepped inside the shower again, eyeing the contraption on the wall suspiciously. He hadn't been in many showers but from his basic understanding, to turn the water on there was always some sort of button or knob.

This one resembled a bike handle.

He didn't think one was supposed to ride a shower.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. As an angel, he'd had a lot more patience to work with. As newly human, he was a few seconds away from giving up and finding a nearby river. Castiel leaned down and gripped one of the 'handles' and pushed down.

Nothing happened.

He frowned and pushed it up only to be assaulted with scalding hot water. He gasped as the water hit his now sensitive skin and quickly jumped away from the water flow, flattening his hands behind the cold tile wall behind him. This wasn't going well.

He groaned internally and carefully stepped out of the shower, leaving the water running. Frankly, he was too scared to go back in there to try to turn it off. He grabbed the fluffy white towel Sam had handed to him earlier and wrapped it around his hips; he sighed, a little embarrassed. It was time to take Dean up on his offer.

Dean grumbled as Sam shoved a pair of plaid pajama pants in Dean's arms, "Here, take those into Cas's room so he'll have something to hang out in while his clothes are in the wash."

Dean watched as his brother went through his drawers drawing out shirts, lifting them up, and discarding them with a shake and frown. Dean snorted, "Sammy, that's very sweet but I don't think Cas wants your shirts to be his hand me down dresses."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Fine then. You give him a shirt."

Dean raised an eyebrow, and looked up thoughtfully. "It would be kinda interesting seeing Cas rock some Zeppelin."

Sam huffed, "You're gonna get Cas into your depraved pie and rock and roll life, Dean."

"What's wrong with pie and rock?" Dean asked indignantly.

Sam rummaged a drawer beside his bed and pulled out a pair of boxer shorts, handing them to Dean awkwardly. "Er. I think he'll need those. They're not- I haven't worn them I think."

Dean cleared his throat and took them, stuffing them quickly between the pajamas in his hands. "Yeah I guess we should probably drop him off at Wal Mart with some cash and a list."

"Dean, Jesus we're not gonna do that! He needs to be nurtured, he's basically a baby!" Sam said, scowling.

"Jeez, Sammy I was only kidding. Alright we'll take him to pick up a shirt or two in the morning. Maybe even a new trenchcoat, eh?" Dean said, trying to brighten up Sam's irked expression.

Sam crossed his arms over his chest; Dean recognized it as his lecture stance. He rolled his eyes in preparation.

"Dean, Cas has obviously been through a lot over the past few days. From what he told us earlier about the angels and being hunted, the least we can do is buy him some clothes and decent food."

Dean nodded, "Sammy, I know. You know how happy I am to have Cas back in one piece. We'll take good care of him. He's home now."

"Yeah. I'm glad he's back. You know, I kinda missed him." He said thoughtfully.

Raising an eyebrow, Dean asked, "Really now? Is that why you're suddenly Mother Sam?"

"Mother- Are you serious?" Sam deadpanned. "Dean, Cas is pretty much family at this point. Newly human family. I'm allowed to be a little concerned."

Dean let out a laugh, "Dude, don't worry it's precious, I forgot how maternal you are."

"Yeah, okay Dean. Let's not forget who basically carried Cas around when he first got here, fixing him soup and offering to run him a bath."

Dean felt his face heat up; he cleared his throat, not meeting Sam's eye, "Yeah well, he was hungry and those showers are hard to work."

Sam relaxed, smiling. "Yeah, yeah you were basically pining for him every night."

"Shut up. I don't pine, Samantha." Dean grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Uh huh." Sam said, unconvinced. He opened his mouth to continue, when he caught himself and gasped, "Oh my God, Dean, he doesn't even have a toothbrush or any other toiletries!"

"Uh.."

"Shit, okay you get that to Cas. I'm gonna go to the store real quick. Pick him up some essentials." Sam said, patting his shoulder as he walked out the door.

Dean chuckled. A few weeks ago, Cas was smiting demons left and right in a heavy 3 piece suit and a trenchcoat and now here they were, Sam rushing on an underwear errand for his angel.

However, he wouldn't put it past Cas to still be one tough mothersucker. He knew his friend, and despite losing his angel mojo, he knew he was still pretty intimidating. Dean admired that Cas could handle getting himself home safely. He didn't know if he could have forgiven himself if something had happened and Cas had fallen into the hands of the angels. Cas was family and Dean couldn't handle entertaining thoughts of losing any members of his family. Especially not Cas.

Dean, lost in thought, walked towards the bathroom nearest to Cas's new room. He turned the corner to find the bathroom door creaking open, light flooding the dimly lit hallway. Dean paused a few feet away from the door, waiting to see if Cas was all done. He watched as Castiel hesitantly stuck his head out, looking down one end of the hall before turning the other way and catching Dean's eye.

"Dean," He said, surprised to see him.

"Hey, Cas. Uh.. You all done in there?" Dean asked, amused at his friends current position; he was essentially a floating head.

Castiel licked his lips and looked up at Dean, he began hesitantly. "Circumstances have forced me to reconsider your previous offer."

Dean didn't know why his heart sped up. What the hell had he offered?

"To…" He said slowly, racking his brain, "Oh, to start your shower?"

Castiel nodded sheepishly, "It was a far more difficult task than I anticipated."

Dean chuckled, moving towards the door. "Oh Jesus. Okay. Right. Let's uh.. I'm gonna need to get in there, buddy."

Castiel paused. He stepped away from the door and allowed Dean inside, subconsciously tightening the towel around his hips. He was never this fully aware of his body before and he felt a sense of natural instinct to keep himself covered. He wasn't sure why Dean's close proximity was causing him to remain especially vigilant of his towel.

Dean stepped into the bathroom as Cas moved behind the door; he looked around and saw the shower was still on, clearly the temperature was too hot, judging by the amount of steam already in the room. He turned to tease Cas on his efforts, words catching in his throat when his eyes landed on him. Castiel was standing innocently, observing Dean from behind the door, one hand holding onto a white towel hanging from his hips. The first thing Dean noticed was that there was script in black ink on his torso, above hip.

"Cas, you got a tattoo?" Dean spat out, his eyes lingering.

Castiel's brow furrowed, the hand that was holding on to the edge of the towel let go and began going up to brush the skin over his tattoo.

The towel sagged a quarter inch. Dean didn't know why the motion nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Oh, yes. It is Enochian. I had to ward myself against the angels." Castiel explained.

Dean looked up; he found he wasn't able to look at Cas directly. Laughing nervously, he pointed at the tattoo again. "Right, that makes sense. Um. Wasn't expecting that."

"I suppose I'll have to get an anti possession one as well. Like yours and Sam's." Cas said thoughtfully.

For a brief moment, the image of Castiel getting the anti possession tattoo over his chest or on his back stumbled into his mind. Or Castiel biting his lip in concentration so he wouldn't focus on the needles against his skin. Logically, if he was getting a tattoo, Castiel probably wouldn't have a shirt on. Much like now. For some reason, the thought caused a small shiver to pervade Dean's spine.

He snapped himself out of it and turned away from Cas, closing his eyes and regaining his composure. He reached into the shower and turned it off. He pulled the curtains all the way back, turning his head and motioning Castiel to come over.

"C'mon Cas, you gotta learn at some point." He said, annoyed with how his throat was suddenly so dry. Castiel moved closer to Dean, leaving little room between them.

Dean should be used to this by now. He had about five or so years of having Cas indifferently invade his personal space; he couldn't understand why this time, it was on the verge of flustering him.

Maybe it's because he's only covered by a towel, said a traitorous voice in the back of his head.

Dean pushed the thought aside, and gestured at the handles. "Okay, uh. You have to push this one up and out so the water's warm and then this one, up and out to control the water pressure. Got it?"

Castiel nodded, unsure. Dean cleared his throat, "Alright demonstration time."

Because he was still wearing his jacket, and didn't want to get the sleeves soaked, Dean stood up straight and quickly took it off. He noticed Castiel quirk an eyebrow in his peripheral.

He couldn't help himself, he grinned and winked at his friend, "Don't get any ideas, Cas."

He expected Castiel to become embarrassed and look away, but he held his gaze and Dean swore he saw a smirk. It was Dean who looked away first, his stomach doing small flips. He sat on the edge of the shower and showed Cas what to do to get a good temperature and a pleasant water pressure. Castiel watched, wholly absorbed in the process.

"I think I understand." He said after a few demonstrations.

Dean nodded and stood up, reaching for his discarded jacket. He gestured towards the sink, where he'd left Cas the pajama pants and underwear Sam had given him. "Oh Sammy's letting you borrow those for tonight. And uh, I'll drop a shirt off in a bit, alright? Think you got a handle of things in here?"

"I won't break the shower, Dean." Castiel said; Dean swore he saw him roll his eyes.

"Alright, alright. Call me if you need anything." He said casually, hand on the bathroom door. He turned once more, just in time to catch a glimpse of Castiel's arm as it pulled the curtain closed, the towel strewn across the sink.

For some reason the thought that he had just technically been in the same room as a naked Cas didn't make him uncomfortable. In fact, he was feeling a little warm at the prospect.

At least there were no bees this time.

Dean woke up fully clothed on top of his bed, clutching a Metallica shirt in his arms.

"Shit." He groaned, slowly rousing from sleep. He'd never dropped the shirt off for Cas.

The last thing he remembered was laying down on his lovely memory foam and swearing to himself it would only be for a few minutes. Now, he reluctantly sat up, cracking his back and groaning; Dean cursed himself for choosing to fall asleep at awkward angles.

He pulled himself onto his feet, rubbing at his eyes and stumbling over to his drawers. He was the one in need of a shower now. He quickly pulled out a pair of boxers and a shirt and slipped out of his room, squinting as his vision got stung by the early rays of sunshine. As he passed the hallway leading to his kitchen, he heard rattling; Curious, Dean stopped midstep, listening intently, only to hear an explicit curse coming from his favorite prophet.

Dean snickered and strolled into the kitchen, throwing his shirt and boxers over his shoulders, "Morning Kev, I didn't know you had such a potty—Cas! Hi, Hey. Uh. Morning."

Castiel was propped up against the kitchen counter next to two bowls of cereal. His hair was incredibly messy and Dean thought the bedhead was an adorable look for him. However, far from adorable, was that Castiel seemed to have taken to not wearing a shirt around the bunker.

"Good morning, Dean." Cas greeted, handing Kevin the gallon of milk. "Kevin is making me breakfast."

"I'm making you cereal, dude." Kevin said, pouring milk into his and Castiel's bowl. He turned to Dean, "I found him wandering around the library like an hour ago. His stomach was basically howling ."

Dean cleared his throat and grabbed his boxers and bunched them up within his shirt. He slinked closer to the counter, eyeing Castiel as he eagerly began to eat his cereal. He tried to pretend he hadn't seen him lick away a stray drop of milk.

They came to him like itches; these moments where he found himself watching his friend and angel with nothing but lustful intentions. He could usually catch himself.

It was getting more difficult these days.

He nodded, snapping out of it and smiled appreciatively at Kevin, "Right, um. Cool. I was on my way to take a shower and..yeah."

What the hell is wrong with me? I can't form a fucking coherent sentence, Dean thought. He was becoming increasingly annoyed that his eyes would fall onto Castiel's torso. Or tattoo. Or hips, as the pajama bottoms he wore slung tantalizingly low.

Dean found himself unashamedly wondering if those hipbones could actually take his eye out if he got close enough.

Kevin raised an eyebrow, "Oh-kay… Don't let us stop you."

Dean chuckled nervously, clearing his throat and turning his attention to Kevin. "I won't! I'm not. Uh. Kevin we'll probably take Cas down to pick up some clothes later. I highly suggest you come cuz you're due for some new non smelly ones. I forgot you still grow."

Kevin wrinkled his nose, "My clothes don't smell! And I don't want to go shopping. It's my day off."

"Day off?" Dean snorted, "I didn't know prophets had designated days off."

"Uh. They do when they've been working their asses off." Kevin began defensively. He huffed and lowered his voice, "Come on, I just want to eat and play Mario Kart for a few days, is that too much to ask? I used to have more elegant ambitions. Advanced Placement ring a bell? Give me this one."

Dean smiled, agreeing with his friend, "Course you can, man. Listen if you're ever tired and you need a break, just ask. I'll lock you away in a hotel room for a few days with pizza and porn myself."

"Awesome." Kevin grinned, "But I do need clothes, can you just pick something out for me?"

"Totally, how do you feel about magenta and flowers?" Dean sneered, gulping down a laugh as Kevin's face dropped.

"Fuck. Okay never mind I don't trust you dressing me for the next few years. I'll come with." Kevin backpedaled quickly, shooting Dean a fearful look.

"Ha! Alright, boys I'll leave you to it." Dean said triumphantly.

"Whatever." Kevin grumbled.

"This concoction is marvelous." Cas said absently, setting his spoon down and grabbing the bowl; he tilted it into his mouth, gulping down the remaining milk and cereal unabashedly.

When Castiel gave a small, appreciative groan, Dean was sure the blood was rushing to other areas besides his face this time around.

He needed to get out. Fast.

Castiel sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "Kevin, you have true talents of the culinary persuasion."

Kevin burst out laughing, "I'm glad you liked it, Cas. Wait til you have my one of a kind ham and cheese sandwiches."

"That sounds delectable."

Dean slipped out of the room, attempting to quickly make his way to the nearest bathroom, without anymore distractions. Suddenly, he realized he'd forgotten his shirt and boxers on the counter.

"Fuck." He spat, turning around rapidly, only to smack into Castiel.

"Ow." Cas murmured, stepping away from Dean. He had something tucked under his arm.

"Oh, Cas I'm sorry. Shit, didn't see you. I was going back for my—"

"Clothing?" Cas asked, placing Dean's clothes back into his hands. "I realized you forgot them."

Dean chuckled, "Right. Thanks buddy."

Castiel smiled slightly, before turning around and making his way back to the kitchen. Dean watched as he raised his arms in a deep stretch above his head, causing his solid, bronzed back to tighten and his pants to sag to the point of revealing a sliver of his boxers.

What caught Dean was surprise was the blatant stab of lust that spiked through him as he greedily took in Castiel's half naked form.

These moments of undeniable want were getting closer and closer in procession. Dean began to get nervous as the idea hit him that there may come a day where he couldn't ignore it and hide in the shower with his hand on his dick.

Today wasn't that day though.

Hi, so this chapter wasn't jealousy, but another wonderful emotion that I'm sure has racked Dean's brain (and head haha) from time to time.

Also, yes it was out of order.

I may do that from time to time to keep things interesting.

I hope you liked okay. okay.