destiel one shots❀

ii. fish face

a/n:

fun fact// it's 11 pm where I am and I'm writing because I'm sad so why not (((: .

cas🐝

•

human! cas & human! dean au

"ya' know, I've never been to an aquarium before? like ever. my dad never bothered to take us anywhere as a kid. it was always work and protecting sammy," dean admitted as he drove the impala towards the city. castiel sat in the passenger seat, his laptop in his lap and glasses on his nose as he typed up some science report. the two had gone for a ride, being it was friday evening.
castiel glanced up from the screen, his glasses falling the the bridge of his nose as his blue eyes scanned his freckle faced best friend. "de, I'm aware your childhood was shit. but you've had to have gone to an aquarium at some point. like a school trip or something," he insisted, running a hand through his darkening hair.
"nope," the older boy replied, popping 'p' dramatically as his green eyes flickered to cas whom was now staring in disbelief.
"well then take a left on fifth, go straight, and pull into the seventh building on the right hand side!" he exclaimed, eagerly packing up his school supplies.
dean winchester couldn't help but smile fondly at his best friend- his best friend- who was so happy and impatient to give him experiences he missed out on as a kid. he followed said directions, pulling up at a fair sized aquarium place around fifteen minutes later. they exited the car, castiel taking his hand and practically dragging him to the entrance.
"I thought you were into astrology?" he questioned as the shorter boy approached the desk in utter excitement.
"well I am, but I mean I've always loved aquariums. and did you know-" from then on cas ranted about random facts and his opinion on situations that had to do with the ocean and its inhabitants.
when they made it to the front of the desk, he still wasn't done as he chatted his mouth off a mile a minute, squeezing dean's hand every so often and emphasizing certain things as he spoke. the girl behind the counter giggled, nodding down towards their hands as he paid for both him and castiel.
realizing their fingers were still intertwined, de blushed a light pink; yet, he didn't let go as he allowed the mesmerized pile of joy lead him to the actual tanks and such. the two stopped in front of a tank that took up the whole walk and displayed multiple coral reef fishes and coral itself.
as cas pointed out different fish, the winchester found himself barely listening as his gaze switched between the tank and his companion beside him.
it didn't take long for castiel to notice, so he soon met de's gaze and asked, "is there something on my face?"
chuckling, dean shook his head, finding himself unable to control his hand as it lifted to cas's face gingerly, then pushed his black rimmed glasses up for him. the small, totally platonic action had cas turning his head away as the tips of his ears turned red.
"h-how about the otter exhibit? it's ba-back there?" he stuttered out, point over his shoulder with his thumb. slightly pleased with himself, de nodded and the two made their way to the back, only stopping to look at a black tip and an octopus.
the otters were adorable. the swam around sweetly, made cute little noises, and patted around on the rocks. though dean ross winchester would never admit it, he instantly fell in love with the puppy like animals; however, castiel jimmy novak could tell and didn't need to be told.
laughing at something an otter did, de mumbled something alone the lines of, "they're almost as cute as-" and then someone's name cas found unrecognizable. despite the small pang of what felt like a fiery passion to kill whoever was considered cute, he insisted they continue moving on to the baby shark exhibit.
dean reluctantly followed, secretly eyeing his best friend up and down. for once, he ditched the trench coat due to the abnormally warm weather, and settled with a led zepplin shirt- courtesy of dean-, dark jeans, and ratty old work boots. the jeans, thankfully, hugged cas's hips perfectly, and de silently thanked whatever god there may be.
"you know, when a shark is born the mother leaves? the shark has to learn and raise itself."
snorting, dean retorted, "talk about abandonment issues."
with a playful glare cas mocked him and said, "you're one to talk winchester."
the two laughed a little before going back to observe the sharks that swam around in the tank. although, castiel couldn't focus on the fish as he took in what dean was wearing. it was a nice day, meaning there were layers but not as many as there could have been. dean went with a plain white shirt, a green flannel, dark jeans, and his usual combat boots. around his neck hung the "samulet" his little brother had give him. but, if you payed close enough attention, you'd see the chain of a dog tag the slipped under his shirt.
"there's not a day that goes by where you don't wear that dog tag," cas murmured, completely forgetting he wasn't aware of the intense checking out that he had just done.
"well yeah. it means a lot to me," he said, pulling the dog tag out from his shirt. there were actually three tags; although, castiel only ever knew of two.
one was for his mother. with her date of birth and death etched into it along with her name. the second, for sammy- his brother. and when cas lifted the third, unknown one, ignoring de's embarrassed protests, he saw his name carved nearly into it with his birthday.
"who knew you were such a sap," he muttered, rubbing his thumb over the metal as he smiled up at dean.
scratching the back of his neck, the older man grumbled, "shut up," prior to turning his attention back to the fish. castiel couldn't stop smiling as he followed in pursuit.
"you shouldn't be embarrassed... it's very sweet dean. I've never had a friend care enough to carry around a reminder of me every single day."
groaning, the very flustered and frustrated dean faced cas, grabbing his face between his hands and squishing his cheeks together.
titling his head as much as possible in the situation, he questioned the action and asked, "isn't this what they call a fish face?"
"you're an idiot, ya' know that? a really big idiot. you're one of the smartest dorks I know, and you're so adorable yet so hot, and you always make me get all stuttery and tingly and weird, love-y dove-y shit that I'm not used to.
"but you're so fucking dumb castiel jimmy novak. you're so oblivious because for the past two years you haven't noticed that I've been falling for you in more ways than one and it's driving me mad. no, this dog tag isn't because you're my friend. it's because you're one of the few people who even managed to stick around and have me completely, and utterly fall in love with them you idiot!
"and I know you're gay, you've told me. and just know, I've never been the straightest even though my actions said otherwise. and here I am in some dumb aquarium professing my dumb love for you rather publicly and loudly. so please tell me if I'm the idiot for doing this?"
castiel was at a loss of words. for five minutes he sat there speechless, dean's heart dropping and shattering. he swears, if it weren't for the others around them still bustling around and minding their own, you would've been able to hear it. sighing, he apologized, turning back to the dumb old fish tank in that dumb old aquarium where he admitted his dumb old feelings.
eventually, they walked back to the car, no longer holding hands, no longer speaking. and once the were settled in, on the road again, cas finally managed to squeak out, "you're only dumb for not telling me sooner. I'm in love with you too, ya' idiot."