Honey Apple Pie

Chapter Twelve

The next few days were extremely uncomfortable for Cas whenever Dean came into the bakery. Caught between completely suppressing his feelings and the urge to blurt them all out whenever he saw Dean, he spent most of his time in a state of constant anxiety.

Alfie noticed Cas's discomfort and tried to keep him from hurting himself in the kitchen, but there was only so much he could do during his three hour shift.

After a particularly difficult lunchtime, in which Dean lingered longer than usual, Cas hid in the kitchen for a while, trying to focus on something - anything - else, to de-frazzle his mind.

'Stupid,' he muttered. 'This is not sustainable.'

'Cas, are you okay?' Alfie called from the front of the shop.

'Yes, I'm fine,' Cas lied.

Just as he was beginning to feel a little better, he heard his phone vibrating somewhere and scrambled to find it, eventually pulling it out from inside a stack of cake pans, briefly confused as to how it got there.

'Gabriel?' he said, seeing his name on the screen.

'Hey, you answered! Congratulations.'

'I'll give myself a pat on the back.'

'You're hilarious. Anyway, how are you doing?'

'I'm doing fine.'

'Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good.'

'I said I'm fine, Gabriel.'

'Well, I'm convinced.'

'You should be,' Cas said stubbornly.

'Okay, then, if you're sure... Mom wants to call tomorrow.'

Cas dropped his phone on the floor, and was glad he hadn't opted for something more expensive.

'Cas, you there?'

'I'm here,' Cas said faintly.

'You still okay?'

'Actually, yes, I'm fine.'

'Really? So I can give her the go ahead?'

'Uh... Yes, all right,' Cas said hesitantly. 'Thanks for the warning. I appreciate it.'

'Of course. I gotta go. Catch you later.'

Gabriel hung up, but Cas kept his phone clutched in his hand, a knot forming in his stomach, where it remained for the rest of the day.

There was a feeble attempt at dinner, but most of his noodles were uneaten when they got cold. He plugged his phone in, but kept checking it to make sure it was charging correctly, then changed into his pajamas. However, even look at his bed he knew that he would not be able to sleep. He picked up his phone again, careful not to dislodge the charger, and looked through his contacts for someone who could distract him. All it did, however, was serve as a sad reminder that he knew hardly anyone. The list consisted of Alfie, Charlie, Dean, Gabriel and Sam. He stared at Dean's number. It would be a distraction at the very least.

I can't sleep. Any tips? he texted.

There was an almost immediate response. Get a blanket and a pillow and meet me outside.

Cas froze, having not expected Dean to want to come over. He looked down at himself in his pajamas and tried to reason with himself that Dean had seen him in them before.

Once the initial shock at Dean's willingness to come over at the drop of a hat, Cas did as he said and grabbed a pillow and a blanket.

Gracie watched him curiously from the couch. She was very used to routine and this was decidedly not part of it.