Don't Tell Sammy

Chapter 18: Cards, Cards, Cards

Castiel was tearing up slices of roast chicken from a packet and placing them onto one of the mini-pizzas, which was approximately an inch or two bigger in circumference than a pancake and arguing his case feverishly against Dean.

'I'm not saying their chapters are unimportant,' he groaned, tearing the chicken a little more violently than he had been a minute ago. 'I'm just saying they're more boring than those of others ... Tyrion, for example. Jon. Daenerys. Arya. They're both important and entertaining, whereas with Ned and Catelyn, their chapters are important information wise, but aren't as exciting as the rest. When I see – or saw in Ned's case – their name at the beginning of a chapter I get disappointed at times, especially if they come after an exciting chapter.'

'How dare you besmirch the name of the great houses Stark and Tully?' Dean demanded, tossing down the sliced ham and fixing Cas with a stony and overdramatic glare.

'I'm not ... besmirching anything,' Castiel insisted, 'I'm just stating my opinion.'

'And I accept your opinion,' Dean nodded evenly. 'It's not your fault you're wrong.'

'Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.'

'Except when their opinion is the same as yours.'

'So, you don't accept others disagreeing with you,' Castiel stated.

'Not about these books. Not when they're calling certain characters boring.'

'They're not boring,' Castiel stressed, 'their chapters are boring. Their thought process and the way they view the world.'

'So you're essentially calling them boring by extension.'

'I'm done with my six,' Castiel declared, taking a step back from the tray which had two rows of six mini-pizzas on it. 'And I'm done arguing with you. I'm going to read on the balcony. Join me if you feel like being more accepting of the opinions of others.'

'So I guess I'll never see you again.'

'I guess so.'

Castiel snatched his book up from the kitchen table and swept his way through the room and out the doors, holding his façade until he left. Dean watched him go, and then once he saw Cas get settled in a chair he turned back to his task and discovered he'd been tearing up thin air for the past minute or two, and he had a whopping two out of six of his pizzas decorated with extra toppings. He'd been too busy staring at, and arguing with Cas to pay attention.

Dean did respect Cas's opinion, but as soon as he noticed that he and Cas were heated as they came onto the topic while still outside, he had to amp it up and keep going over the same points in the same way with slightly different wording as they made their way through the building and into the apartment where Dean had pulled out the beginnings of lunch straight away, the two of them falling into their tasks automatically while the argument continued.

He'd show up out there when lunch was ready all apologetic and what not, but for now he had to make Cas think he was pissed, so he could have an excuse for causal touches and nudging, maybe even a friendly and overly-false and dramatic nudge of Cas's cheek with his fist if he could get it to come to that. Today had been a good day for contact, and he wasn't about to let it end with their heads resting together to avoid stiff necks from staying upright and looking down, which was surely why Cas had rested their heads together because there was no other reason that Dean could fathom as to why Cas had done such a thing.

And Cas holding Dean's arm around him for that brief time was clearly because Cas had been cold and needed Dean's extra body heat. And, naturally, for show of course. But the show could have simply ended with it being around him for a short time, not being held there before he trusted Dean enough to leave it there, hence the reasoning.