Destiel

Chapter 7

Several years later

The suburbs, no matter how insulated they seemed, harbored their own intimidating factors. For those that were not used to the life, or were outside of the normal demographic that was found in the square homes with large lawns, living in one of the cookie cutter homes was somewhat uncomfortable. The lawns in this particular suburb were still nourished from the spring rain, although summer was just beginning and the edges of laws had just begun to yellow if they were left unattended. The homes here were small and middle class, and there were plenty of cul-de-sacs to turn around a lost driver. On one particular cul-de-sac stood a two bedroom home that was slightly smaller than the rest and was two stories. It was towards the edge of the suburban complex, and the lawn laid perfectly green and well taken care of just like the flowerbeds. The backyard faced another backyard that had many overgrown plants so it was more private than it may otherwise have been.

The bedrooms were both upstairs, while downstairs was a small office, a half bath and a kitchen that had a small space for a dining room table, with a living room greeting the white front door.

The outside looked freshly painted, and orange roof tiles were freshly laid. To any passerby, it looked like the perfect home for a new couple or first-time parents. And the sun set slowly upon the backyard, shining light on the pool that was kept clean of all leaves and had a filter that was changed regularly. The kitchen window was open to let in fresh air, and the smell of dinner wafted out. In the front yard was a mailbox like any other that was attached to a wooden post pounded in to the ground. On the side of the mailbox read one word that yielded the identity of the owners to the mailman and all who passed by, "Winchester."

For dinner, Dean had grilled up a sirloin steak and a side of mashed potatoes. Dean cut the steak in two so he and Castiel could share, adding a dollop of steak sauce to his plate and a generous amount of mashed potatoes with butter. After dinner they watched two terrible B-movies on television while they snuggled close on the couch. Near 11pm Castiel led a sleepy-eyed Dean, who had fallen in and out of sleep towards the end of the second film, up to bed.

Castiel held Dean as he drifted to sleep, always waiting for a while after he was snoozing to allow his own lids to close. He liked to watch Dean sleep, watching the lids rest motionlessly and feeling his chest rising and falling under a soft hand. Castiel only slept for 5 hours a night or so, and when he awoke he sat outside a lot, looking up at the clouds and the stars. He would sit quietly, perhaps with a warm cup of tea or hot cocoa if he was in the mood for something sweet. He enjoyed the calm, quiet night air by the pool. And he would just lookup, endlessly, until the sky began to go from a dark, near blackness to a slowly lightening blue.

When he felt it was morning enough, he would go upstairs and slip back in to bed with Dean so he would be there when those green eyes opened. Lately he enjoyed watching Dean get dressed or undressed mostly because Dean had begun exercising more; as Dean put it, he wanted to "get cut" whatever that meant. Castiel wasn't sure how slicing yourself would help, but he hadn't seen do this yet. And he supposed if Dean was happy with his workout routine, Castiel was happy too.

Upon sliding under the covers, he found Dean laying on his stomach with one hand under his pillow, the other outstretched onto Castiel's side of the bed and it made Castiel smile ever so slightly, thinking that Dean was dreaming of him in his sleep.

Castiel lifted Dean's arm and laid it over his own waist, facing Dean as he laid down. But the movement had awoken Dean just enough that he felt the warm body next to him; he didn't even need to open his eyes anymore to know who it was. He didn't have to live in fear of who was crawling in to bed next to him at such an unholy hour. Instead, he simply rolled onto his side so he was facing Castiel, keeping his arm draped over Castiel's waist and he drifted back to sleep in an instant with his soft breath warm on Castiels face.