Standing Together

Chapter 32

"Aw, hi, kitten!" Castiel coos, crouching down next to the cat in the doorway. "I'm here to give you more food. Would you like some food?"

Princess rubs against his leg, moving around too much for him to really pet her. She rubs her head on him, as if petting him instead of the other way around. Castiel chuckles, a loving smile on his face. God, how he'd like a cat of his own. If only Dean wasn't allergic...

"Hey, Princess, should I dump Dean so I can get my own cat?" Castiel asks.

Princess looks up at him, the continues playfully walking around him, rubbing her head against him.

"Is that a 'no'?" Castiel asks.

Princess just keeps playing around with him. 

Castiel lies down on the floor, and the cat cautiously steps on his chest. When she realizes she's not going to get hurt, she curls up on him, head tucked beneath his chin. Castiel smiles to himself and runs a hand down her side, petting her gently to the sound of her purrs.

"Aw, you're so sweet," Castiel tells her, because, despite knowing she can't understand him, he feels like it's necessary to let her know how much he loves her. Is there some type of medicine or something that would let Dean tolerate a cat? Because he really doesn't want to give her up.

"Can I get up now?" Castiel asks the cat after a few minutes.

Princess lifts her head, looks around, the tucks it under Castiel's head again.

Castiel sighs. "You're so obnoxious, kitten. Some of us have lives to get back to."

Princess remains unbothered.

Castiel places a hand on the cat's back, ruffling her fur gently with his thumb. It's oddly relaxing, lying her with his cat. She's just so sweet and so soft. He doesn't really want to leave. It's such a sweet moment, until...

Bam!

Princess jumps off of him, but not before her claws shoot out, digging into his skin. She runs off his face, leaving claw marks on his cheek and chest, but he barely processes the pain or the liquid dripping down his cheek, too distracted by the pounding of his heart.

Castiel sits up, pressing a hand against his heart as if it will shut it up. What was that noise? It couldn't be fireworks. It's too light, and way passed the Fourth of July. So what would make that noise?

"What if it's a bomb," Castiel whispers through labored breaths. "What if it's a bomb, what if it's a bomb, what if it's —"

He squeezes his eyes shut, pressing his back against the wall. He can feel his heartbeat in every inch of his body, the blood pulsing through his veins much louder than it should be. Castiel clutches his head, curling up almost into a ball.

Suddenly, something brushes against his leg. He goes to swat it away, but stops himself at the last second when he looks up. It's just the cat. She rubs against him, refusing to leave him alone, not that it does a thing to calm him down.

The door swings open, and suddenly, Dean's crouched in front of him, trying to talk to him, trying to ask if he's okay, but Castiel can barely hear him, barely processing his voice.

Dean sits against the wall next to him, and, after a very loud sneeze, puts an arm around the boy. "Cas, sweetie, you have to calm down, okay? I don't know what that noise was, but random loud noises happen all the time here. It's nothing to freak out about, I promise."

Castiel sniffles and tries to focus on his breathing, even before Dean tells him to. They've been through this so many times before. He should know what to do. Hell, he shouldn't have to. There's nothing to panic about, and logically, he knows that, so why can't he stop?