Standing Together

Chapter 66

A/N In 300 chapters (assuming there will be 300 more chapters which is very possible at this rate), we'll be at chapter 666 in the series ;)

Dean and Castiel get ready to leave the hospital the next morning. It's a Tuesday, so Ketch has the day off from practice, which means he can get there as early as he wants. Their agreement had been 10:00, which gives them a few minutes until he should show up.

"You look so good in your normal person clothes," Castiel says teasingly.

"No more stupid hospital gown for me," Dean says with a grin. "Everybody's favorite flannel-wearing fashionista is back, baby!"

Castiel laughs. "And I think the nice blue cast goes beautifully."

"It's a great fashion accessory, I must admit," Dean agrees.

"You know, if you come to the Grammys with me, I'm sure you could get a bunch of famous people to sign that for you," Castiel says.

Dean shakes his head. "Gotta pass on that one. I'm serious, if I can't dramatically step out of the limo onto the red carpet with camera flashes everywhere, I'm not going."

Castiel chuckles. "This is probably your only chance to get anywhere close to that. Are you sure you want to miss it?"

Dean nods. "I don't want to just have half the experience. It's all or nothing. Plus, I refuse to let people take pictures of me in my weakened, crippled state. It almost makes me seem like a normal mortal person, and I'm above that."

Castiel shakes his head in amusement. "Right, of course." He runs a hand down Dean's cheek, feeling the stubble again his fingers. "You should stop shaving so much, because you look really hot right now."

Dean chuckles. "Well, you don't look that bad yourself."

Castiel leans in for a kiss, and Dean kisses him back slowly. It's a bit awkward, both sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, especially with Dean's long cast, but neither of them mind. There really is no such thing as a bad kiss with Dean involved, anyway.

"Bad time?"

They pull apart and look to see Ketch standing in the doorway, his hands clasped in front of him. Castiel quickly averts his eyes, his face heating up. He's not sure why it's embarrassing — it's not the first time anyone's seen them kiss, and it certainly won't be the last. Maybe it's just because this was supposed to be a private moment between them, and then suddenly, it wasn't.

"I don't know if this is a thing in England," Dean says, "but here in America, there's this cool thing you do to let someone know you're entering the room. It's called 'knocking.' You should really try it."

"I told you I would be here at 10:00," Ketch says. "It's 10:00. I would have thought that would have been enough of a heads up."

Castiel grabs Dean's new crutches from the other side of the room and hands them to him. Dean stands up and puts one under each arm, then pauses to adjust his flannel so both he and the crutches can move freely.

"Ready, gimpy?" Ketch asks teasingly.

"Careful, Ketch," Dean says. "This cast is not soft. You should probably do your best to keep it away from where the sun don't shine."

Castiel bites back a laugh. He's actually enjoying their bickering right now. It was a bit uncomfortable when Castiel first met Ketch a couple years ago, just listening to their jabs at each other, but now that he's grown to like Ketch, he doesn't mind this, either.

"Oh, I would love to watch you break your leg again," Ketch says. "Unfortunately, we don't have all the time in the world. Coming?"

They head out of the hospital, walking in silence until the moment Dean steps out of the building, when he takes a dramatic breath and says, "Finally, fresh air! It's been so long!"

"It's literally been less than 48 hours," Ketch says.

"Yeah, and that's 48 hours longer than I wanted to be there," Dean says.

"Not a hospital fan?" Ketch guesses.

"No one enjoys the hospital," Dean deadpans.

"Fair point."

They head to the car, and Dean goes to sit shotgun, which is exactly what one would expect from him, but Castiel stops him.

"Maybe you should sit in the back," Castiel says. "You can keep your crutches with you. It'll probably be easier."

Dean frowns, but he doesn't turn the idea down. Castiel opens the door for him and holds his crutches as he slides in the back seat. Castiel sits down next to him, lying the crutches across the floor.

"You're both in the back now," Ketch observes. "I'll try not to take this personally."

"You probably should, though," Dean says.

"Sorry," Castiel says. "I was already back here, and the front seat was too far away."

Ketch chuckles. "As long as you two don't hook up back there, it's all fine." Ketch glances at Dean in the rearview mirror, then asks, "Can you even do that with your entire leg in a cast?"

"Why is that a question you're asking me right now?" Dean asks, a slightly condescending hint to his voice.

"Point taken."

~~

"And here we are," Ketch says, gesturing to the hidden Gillette Stadium parking lot.

"It's a miracle," Dean replies.

"Thanks for the ride," Castiel says.

"No problem," Ketch replies. "As much as I would have liked to watch Winchester hobble all the way home on crutches, I like you too much to do that to you, too."

Dean clutched his heart as if shot. "Ouch, Ketch. Words hurt."

"If that hurt more than your broken leg, I say you're doing pretty good right now," Ketch replies.

Castiel hops out of the car and takes the crutches around to the other side to give to Dean. He probably could have gotten them himself, but this is easier.

Dean pushes himself out of the car and puts the crutches under his arms, holding himself up. "Homeward bound."

Before Dean closes the car door, Castiel says, "Good luck this weekend."

"Thanks," Ketch replies. "Should I expect to see you there?"

Castiel shrugs. "Probably not, but there's always a chance." He's being entirely serious, too, and not just lying in case Dean doesn't want anyone to know they'll be there. They're going as normal audience members. They probably won't see any of the players.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Ketch says. "I'm sure I'll see you around. Both of you."

"Probably," Castiel agrees. "Bye!"

And now, time to go home and cuddle.