For A Horse With Wings 10/?
Title: For a Horse With Wings
Author: kashoku_yoshiko
Word count: WIP
Spoilers: Just know who Dean and Castiel are
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, Mental Health Issues
Summary: Dean has worked with horses all his life, but work as a ranch hand doesn’t pay the bills to put his brother through school. When a job opportunity to be the groom at Golden Gate Farms for one of the most decorated eventers of the time pops up, Dean hops on the chance. Unfortunately, Castiel Novak turns out to be a huge dick.
Author's Note: The story is back! It looks like I will be dropping out of the DCBB despite having completed the story. I am very unhappy with the artist situation, and it's really just taking a toll on me emotionally. I feel like it may be my only options. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter...
Previous: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9
Something wasn’t right. Dean hadn’t been able to fall asleep since he lay down in his bed over four hours ago. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in their loft. Chuck was passed out in the bed next to him and the silence would normally be calming, but there was an itch at the back of Dean’s mind he could not scratch. Turning over again with a frustrated sigh he decided he had had enough. Throwing off the covers he pulled on his jeans, not even bothering to button them, and carelessly threw on a shirt and boots. With bloodshot eyes he slowly descended the stairs that led to the barn. If he couldn’t find sleep, he might as well make himself useful cleaning tack or something else.
The horses were restless. There were agitated snorts and the sounds of consistent pacing. Frowning, Dean began fumbling to try and find the light switches. As soon as the lights flickered on there was a loud pounding noise against the wood. “Fuck, Lucifer! I swear to God-,” but Lucifer was standing at attention in his stall, ears pricked forward and alert towards Inias’s stall. Rubbing at his eyes to get them to adjust he stumbled over towards the gelding’s stall. There was another loud pound and heavy groans from the horse’s stall. Dean was suddenly wide awake. Inias was pawing angrily at the ground and biting at his stomach between groans, his body stretched out the length of the stall.
“Shit!” Dean was sprinting towards the stairs, taking them two at a time as he made back to the loft. The man didn’t even bother turning on the lights as he reached for Chuck in the bed and threw off the covers. “Chuck! Get up!”
“Huh!? What!?” Chuck snapped up in the bed in shock.
“Inias is colicing!” Dean yelled in urgency. “Call the vet and get Castiel down here, now!” Chuck was instantly out of the bed and reaching for items of clothing from his drawers. Dean scrambled back down the stairs, tripping over his unlaced boots a few times in the process. Swinging the door to the tack room open he headed for the fridge and fumbled through the medications until he found the one he was looking for. Grabbing a syringe from the cabinet he drew out 10 cc of the liquid and slammed the fridge door shut, dashing back to the moaning gelding. “Easy, buddy, easy,” Dean whispered as he ran his fingers along the horse’s neck to find the vein. Pulling off the cap with his mouth he lined up the needled and carefully found his way into the vein, injecting the fluid.
Haphazardly he chucked the needle and syringe and grabbed Inias’s halter from the stall door, quickly fastening it around the gelding’s head. He had to keep him moving. “Come on, Inias, you’ve got to move.” Dean tugged with all his might, but the gelding stood firm and motionless. Using the end of the leadline as a whip he flung it at the gelding and he lunged forward with momentum Dean used to get him walking.
“Rachel is on her way,” Chuck panted as he finally made it down the stairs, “but it’ll take her twenty minutes to get here. Castiel should be here any minute.”
“I gave him 10 cc of banamine, but I’m worried it was too damn late. He wants to go down,” Dean could feel the horse at the other end brace against him as they walked down the aisle.
“INIAS!” Castiel cried as ran into the barn, Anna and her husband trailing behind. His face was pale as he came to a halt, eyes blown wide in shock.
Inias was tugging at Dean’s arm even harder as he tried to keep him walking up and down the barn aisle. “Get me a whip!” There was silence, everyone staring in shock. “God dammit, somebody get me a whip!” Chuck scrambled to find a Dressage whip and handed it to Dean as he walked the gelding by. Dean gave one good smack to the horse’s flank and Inias was up and moving. It was a good sign. Dean would never forget the horse he had to repeatedly hit in attempt to keep him up, but the horse was too far gone and eventually succumbed to the colic before the vet could arrive. With all his might he prayed Inias did not hold the same fate.
Castiel, Anna, and her husband kept their distance to allow Dean to work, Anna cradling her crying brother in her arms. Chuck helped keep Inias moving when he tried to go down. When the lights of Rachel’s truck finally came in to view, there was an overwhelming sigh of relief.
Rachel hurried out of her truck, a large bucket with a tube in hand. “How is he?” She asked, approaching Dean.
Dean brought Inias to a halt in front of her as the vet instantly began working the horse over. “Gums look a little better, but are still pretty white. I still don’t hear any guttural noises. He’s at least walking without much issue, now. At first I had to use the whip to keep him up.”
“You give him banamine?” She asked as she put her ear to the horse’s stomach.
Dean nodded, “As soon as I realized what was happening I gave it IV.”
Rachel gave the horse a pat. “You saved his life, getting to him with the banamine when you did. I can hear a faint noise on the right side, but let’s go ahead and pump his stomach. Has he passed any stool at all?”
Dean shook his head, “Not since I’ve been with him.”
“I’ll check for impaction, too,” She began putting on gloves and pulling out a long tube. “You seen this done before?”
Dean gave a snort, “More than I would have cared to. I know what to expect.” He grabbed hold of Inias’s halter to secure his head for the vet.
Rachel lubed up the tube and began slowly working it into the horse’s mouth and down his throat. Inias was too exhausted to fight back, Dean practically holding his head up to allow the vet to continue leading it down towards the stomach. With the tube set, Rachel held up the other end to her mouth and began inhaling to create suction. When the fluids started making their way up the tube, Rachel let the open end fall to the bucket.
The smell was putrid. Dean wiggled his nose in disgust. Some things never did seem to change. It was definitely as bad as he remembered it. Trying to keep his mind off of it he asked, “No grain tomorrow. We’ve got some alfalfa hay. You want us to feed that?”
Rachel gave a nod, “Yeah that would be great. No more than a flake in the morning and afternoon. If he’s had good bowel movements throughout the day you give him a little grain in the evening, but I wouldn’t put him back on his full feeding for a few days.”
“So, he’s going to be ok? No surgery?” Anna asked with a calm voice, but her hand was fidgeting with the button of her coat.
“He’s extremely lucky,” Rachel started, “If this hadn’t been caught until the morning, I don’t even think surgery could have saved him. How did you guys know he was colicing?”
Dean gave an uncomfortable cough, “Um, I don’t know. I guess somehow I knew something wasn’t right. I couldn’t sleep so I came down to the barn to find something to do. That’s when I noticed it.” Dean really knew all too well how lucky they had been. Catch colic as soon as it starts and more than likely a vet isn’t even required to come out but catch it too late and there would be no help.
“Well, I’ll say it again; you saved his life. I think he’ll be fine, but keep an eye on him the next few days. If you notice anything make sure you call me. I’m going to go ahead and give him some DSMO.”
Dean almost puked at the mere mention of the drug. “Do you have to?” DSMO was the absolute worst smell Dean had ever had the misfortune of smelling, and it would stink up the barn for weeks to come.
Rachel laughed, “Sorry. You get used to it after a while.”
“No,” Dean argued, “You really don’t.” Trying to start breathing through his mouth, Dean watched as Rachel finished her work, and then too Inias back to his stall. Chuck had cleared out any traces of food, including the hay for the rest of the night until they were sure it had passed. Inias hung his head low, but the color had at least fully returned to his gums.
Anna, her husband, and Chuck filed out back to their beds once Rachel packed up and left. Anna had tried to coerce her brother into coming back to the house, but he had refused eyes still red with tears. Opening the stall door Castiel joined Dean in the stall and wrapped his arms around the man. “Thank you. Thank you….there is nothing I could ever say that could be enough.”
“Cas,” Dean sighed, placing a gentle kiss against the man’s forehead, “I was just doing my job.”
“I could have lost him, and I don’t think I could have taken it,” he squeezed Dean hard before taking a step back and wiping at his eyes. “I don’t want to leave him tonight.”
“He won’t be alone, Cas, I promise I’ll stay with him. You don’t want to stay down here all night. You won’t be able to get the stink out of your skin for months,” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t care about the smell,” he shook his head, “I want to be here. To wake up and know he’s still ok.”
Dean thought about saying something in protest, but knew it would end up useless. Giving Inias a pat on the back he nodded. “Ok, well, let me at least go pull some blankets and pillows from the loft. Might as well be comfortable if we are going to spend the night.”
Castiel gave a small smile, “Yes, thank you.”
Chuck was already long gone in dreamland when Dean turned on the light to grab extra blankets from the linen closet and the pillows off of his own bed. He set up their little nest right outside of Inias’s stall. “There we go. You ready for lights out?”
Castiel was reluctant, but gave a nod as he stroked his hand down Inias’s face. “I suppose.” He kicked off his boots and settled underneath the blankets next to Dean, burying his face in the man’s chest. “Good night, Dean.”
Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel and breathed in his sweet scent. “Sweet dreams, Cas.”
/*/
Castiel did not work Inias for several days after the incident, and the gelding was improving every day. Dean had fed him his full amount of grain that morning and Inias had gobbled it up happily. It was almost scary to say, but Dean was sort of thankful Inias had coliced. Castiel had been treating Inias with much more care, but now he was doing the same with all of the horses. Even his relationship with Lucifer was improving. Castiel had been shown the cruel reality of how fragile the animals really were.
“I don’t know if I should still show Inias next weekend,” Castiel frowned as he dismounted Gabriel and handed Dean the reigns.
“Cas,” Dean began as he followed in behind the rider, “I promise you he is fine. He was ok to ride two days ago, I promise you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was itching for you to hop on him and have him work. He’s getting bored cooped up in the stall.”
“I know,” Castiel admitted with a frown, “but I’m just…,” there was a heavy sigh. “I’m over analyzing this, aren’t I?”
“Uh, a bit,” Dean nodded with a sly grin. “Why don’t I saddle him up for an easy dressage ride? Nothing too difficult, but just so he can show you that he is ready to go.”
Castiel frowned, biting slightly at his lip as the thought about it, before finally giving in. “Very well.”
“Awesome.” Dean made quick work of untacking Gabriel and cooling him out, itching to see Castiel take Inias out. Inias was not the calm and quiet gelding he usually was. The entire time Dean was grooming him he was moving about in anticipation, not standing still for more than a few seconds at a time. When Dean put the bit up to his mouth, he practically chomped down on it in excitement.
“Hm,” Castiel’s eyes narrowed in a squint, “Perhaps you were right. He seems…anxious.”
“Yeah, you think?” Dean replied sarcastically as he yanked on the reigns with annoyance. “Ok, seriously, dude, that’s enough.”
Castiel was able to give the gelding a complete workout. He had a huge spring to his step and he floated across the arena as Castiel asked him to extend his trot across the diagonal. Dean would have easily one as far to say that it was the best he had ever seen him. Maybe the few extra days off had rejuvenated him. When Castiel dismounted, there was a grin plastered on his face that made Dean feel lighter. “He looked good.”
“He felt incredible. You were right,” Castiel responded as he removed his helmet.
“I’m always right, Cas,” Dean responded with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “You’d do well to remember that.”
Castiel raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is that so? I thought you were the one who worked under me?”
“Technicalities, technicalities, Cas,” Dean waved him off. He settled Inias into the crossties, the gelding having worked off enough energy that he stood still.
“You know, I was thinking,” Castiel began nervously, his hands rubbing his upper arms.
“That so?” Dean asked as he fiddled with the saddle.
“Anna, her husband, and Chuck will all be gone this weekend at a show,” Castiel mentioned.
“Uh-huh. They’re going to Maryland, yeah I know,” Dean nodded.
“Yes. For four days. I was…,” Castiel cleared his throat and stared at the floor of the aisle. “I was wondering if you wanted to spend the weekend with me. At the house.”
Dean’s eyes shot up to Castiel in surprise. “You asking me to come home with you, Cas? Well, well, you dog.”
“I am not a dog, Dean,” Castiel huffed. “I was being serious.”
Dean threw his head back and laughed. “Jesus, Cas, we really do need to get you out more. I know you were being serious, and I’d love to spend the weekend with you. I’d love to have a full kitchen to cook with actually.”
“You cook?” Castiel asked curiously.
“Sure do,” he responded.
“Good, because I cannot. Anna is always the one to make the meals at the house,” he said as he took a seat and began wiping off his tall boots with a rag.
Dean leaned down as he walked by and placed a kiss on the man’s lips. “What would you do without me?”
“Have to order take out every night,” he responded with a smile. “I’d also have no one to clean my tack that needs cleaning tonight.”
Dean shot him a glare from the other side of Inias, “You sure do know how to kill the mood.”
/*/
Castiel and Dean had bid Anna farewell Thursday morning, and both men pitched in to help Bobby feed and clean that morning. Dean and Castiel were eager to get their work for the day done so that they could relax back at the house. Dean had never actually seen the inside of Castiel’s home, and it was far better than he could have imagined. The kitchen was huge with several ovens that he could not wait to make use of.
“I am so making pie,” Dean groaned in excitement as he moved around the kitchen.
“As wonderful as that sounds, perhaps we should wait for that until after dinner,” Castiel responded, reaching into the fridge for a bottle of water.
“You’re no fun,” Dean frowned. “Fine, what is it you want for lunch?”
“I’m not too picky. Whatever we have you are welcome to,” he responded as he took a seat at the bar and opened up his laptop.
Dean made mental note of the hamburger patties in the freezer for dinner, but decided on chicken wraps. Sam the health nut used to love them whenever Dean made them for him, and even Dean had to grown to like them with the right seasoning and sauces. It seemed like something Castiel would like. In the end, he had to make more than he originally planned because Castiel had enjoyed them so much. While Dean was cleaning the dishes, Castiel interrupted him taking his hand.
“Dean,” Castiel began, his eyes locked onto Dean’s. “Let’s go to bed.”
Dean shot the man a quizzical look. “Uh, Cas, it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon.”
“I know.”
Dean was about to ask him if he had hit his head sometime during the morning, when it suddenly dawned on him what Castiel meant. “Oh. Oh. Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “We should definitely go to bed.”
Castiel laced his fingers in Dean’s and began dragging him away to the bedroom.
Author: kashoku_yoshiko
Word count: WIP
Spoilers: Just know who Dean and Castiel are
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: AU, Mental Health Issues
Summary: Dean has worked with horses all his life, but work as a ranch hand doesn’t pay the bills to put his brother through school. When a job opportunity to be the groom at Golden Gate Farms for one of the most decorated eventers of the time pops up, Dean hops on the chance. Unfortunately, Castiel Novak turns out to be a huge dick.
Author's Note: The story is back! It looks like I will be dropping out of the DCBB despite having completed the story. I am very unhappy with the artist situation, and it's really just taking a toll on me emotionally. I feel like it may be my only options. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter...
Previous: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9
Something wasn’t right. Dean hadn’t been able to fall asleep since he lay down in his bed over four hours ago. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in their loft. Chuck was passed out in the bed next to him and the silence would normally be calming, but there was an itch at the back of Dean’s mind he could not scratch. Turning over again with a frustrated sigh he decided he had had enough. Throwing off the covers he pulled on his jeans, not even bothering to button them, and carelessly threw on a shirt and boots. With bloodshot eyes he slowly descended the stairs that led to the barn. If he couldn’t find sleep, he might as well make himself useful cleaning tack or something else.
The horses were restless. There were agitated snorts and the sounds of consistent pacing. Frowning, Dean began fumbling to try and find the light switches. As soon as the lights flickered on there was a loud pounding noise against the wood. “Fuck, Lucifer! I swear to God-,” but Lucifer was standing at attention in his stall, ears pricked forward and alert towards Inias’s stall. Rubbing at his eyes to get them to adjust he stumbled over towards the gelding’s stall. There was another loud pound and heavy groans from the horse’s stall. Dean was suddenly wide awake. Inias was pawing angrily at the ground and biting at his stomach between groans, his body stretched out the length of the stall.
“Shit!” Dean was sprinting towards the stairs, taking them two at a time as he made back to the loft. The man didn’t even bother turning on the lights as he reached for Chuck in the bed and threw off the covers. “Chuck! Get up!”
“Huh!? What!?” Chuck snapped up in the bed in shock.
“Inias is colicing!” Dean yelled in urgency. “Call the vet and get Castiel down here, now!” Chuck was instantly out of the bed and reaching for items of clothing from his drawers. Dean scrambled back down the stairs, tripping over his unlaced boots a few times in the process. Swinging the door to the tack room open he headed for the fridge and fumbled through the medications until he found the one he was looking for. Grabbing a syringe from the cabinet he drew out 10 cc of the liquid and slammed the fridge door shut, dashing back to the moaning gelding. “Easy, buddy, easy,” Dean whispered as he ran his fingers along the horse’s neck to find the vein. Pulling off the cap with his mouth he lined up the needled and carefully found his way into the vein, injecting the fluid.
Haphazardly he chucked the needle and syringe and grabbed Inias’s halter from the stall door, quickly fastening it around the gelding’s head. He had to keep him moving. “Come on, Inias, you’ve got to move.” Dean tugged with all his might, but the gelding stood firm and motionless. Using the end of the leadline as a whip he flung it at the gelding and he lunged forward with momentum Dean used to get him walking.
“Rachel is on her way,” Chuck panted as he finally made it down the stairs, “but it’ll take her twenty minutes to get here. Castiel should be here any minute.”
“I gave him 10 cc of banamine, but I’m worried it was too damn late. He wants to go down,” Dean could feel the horse at the other end brace against him as they walked down the aisle.
“INIAS!” Castiel cried as ran into the barn, Anna and her husband trailing behind. His face was pale as he came to a halt, eyes blown wide in shock.
Inias was tugging at Dean’s arm even harder as he tried to keep him walking up and down the barn aisle. “Get me a whip!” There was silence, everyone staring in shock. “God dammit, somebody get me a whip!” Chuck scrambled to find a Dressage whip and handed it to Dean as he walked the gelding by. Dean gave one good smack to the horse’s flank and Inias was up and moving. It was a good sign. Dean would never forget the horse he had to repeatedly hit in attempt to keep him up, but the horse was too far gone and eventually succumbed to the colic before the vet could arrive. With all his might he prayed Inias did not hold the same fate.
Castiel, Anna, and her husband kept their distance to allow Dean to work, Anna cradling her crying brother in her arms. Chuck helped keep Inias moving when he tried to go down. When the lights of Rachel’s truck finally came in to view, there was an overwhelming sigh of relief.
Rachel hurried out of her truck, a large bucket with a tube in hand. “How is he?” She asked, approaching Dean.
Dean brought Inias to a halt in front of her as the vet instantly began working the horse over. “Gums look a little better, but are still pretty white. I still don’t hear any guttural noises. He’s at least walking without much issue, now. At first I had to use the whip to keep him up.”
“You give him banamine?” She asked as she put her ear to the horse’s stomach.
Dean nodded, “As soon as I realized what was happening I gave it IV.”
Rachel gave the horse a pat. “You saved his life, getting to him with the banamine when you did. I can hear a faint noise on the right side, but let’s go ahead and pump his stomach. Has he passed any stool at all?”
Dean shook his head, “Not since I’ve been with him.”
“I’ll check for impaction, too,” She began putting on gloves and pulling out a long tube. “You seen this done before?”
Dean gave a snort, “More than I would have cared to. I know what to expect.” He grabbed hold of Inias’s halter to secure his head for the vet.
Rachel lubed up the tube and began slowly working it into the horse’s mouth and down his throat. Inias was too exhausted to fight back, Dean practically holding his head up to allow the vet to continue leading it down towards the stomach. With the tube set, Rachel held up the other end to her mouth and began inhaling to create suction. When the fluids started making their way up the tube, Rachel let the open end fall to the bucket.
The smell was putrid. Dean wiggled his nose in disgust. Some things never did seem to change. It was definitely as bad as he remembered it. Trying to keep his mind off of it he asked, “No grain tomorrow. We’ve got some alfalfa hay. You want us to feed that?”
Rachel gave a nod, “Yeah that would be great. No more than a flake in the morning and afternoon. If he’s had good bowel movements throughout the day you give him a little grain in the evening, but I wouldn’t put him back on his full feeding for a few days.”
“So, he’s going to be ok? No surgery?” Anna asked with a calm voice, but her hand was fidgeting with the button of her coat.
“He’s extremely lucky,” Rachel started, “If this hadn’t been caught until the morning, I don’t even think surgery could have saved him. How did you guys know he was colicing?”
Dean gave an uncomfortable cough, “Um, I don’t know. I guess somehow I knew something wasn’t right. I couldn’t sleep so I came down to the barn to find something to do. That’s when I noticed it.” Dean really knew all too well how lucky they had been. Catch colic as soon as it starts and more than likely a vet isn’t even required to come out but catch it too late and there would be no help.
“Well, I’ll say it again; you saved his life. I think he’ll be fine, but keep an eye on him the next few days. If you notice anything make sure you call me. I’m going to go ahead and give him some DSMO.”
Dean almost puked at the mere mention of the drug. “Do you have to?” DSMO was the absolute worst smell Dean had ever had the misfortune of smelling, and it would stink up the barn for weeks to come.
Rachel laughed, “Sorry. You get used to it after a while.”
“No,” Dean argued, “You really don’t.” Trying to start breathing through his mouth, Dean watched as Rachel finished her work, and then too Inias back to his stall. Chuck had cleared out any traces of food, including the hay for the rest of the night until they were sure it had passed. Inias hung his head low, but the color had at least fully returned to his gums.
Anna, her husband, and Chuck filed out back to their beds once Rachel packed up and left. Anna had tried to coerce her brother into coming back to the house, but he had refused eyes still red with tears. Opening the stall door Castiel joined Dean in the stall and wrapped his arms around the man. “Thank you. Thank you….there is nothing I could ever say that could be enough.”
“Cas,” Dean sighed, placing a gentle kiss against the man’s forehead, “I was just doing my job.”
“I could have lost him, and I don’t think I could have taken it,” he squeezed Dean hard before taking a step back and wiping at his eyes. “I don’t want to leave him tonight.”
“He won’t be alone, Cas, I promise I’ll stay with him. You don’t want to stay down here all night. You won’t be able to get the stink out of your skin for months,” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t care about the smell,” he shook his head, “I want to be here. To wake up and know he’s still ok.”
Dean thought about saying something in protest, but knew it would end up useless. Giving Inias a pat on the back he nodded. “Ok, well, let me at least go pull some blankets and pillows from the loft. Might as well be comfortable if we are going to spend the night.”
Castiel gave a small smile, “Yes, thank you.”
Chuck was already long gone in dreamland when Dean turned on the light to grab extra blankets from the linen closet and the pillows off of his own bed. He set up their little nest right outside of Inias’s stall. “There we go. You ready for lights out?”
Castiel was reluctant, but gave a nod as he stroked his hand down Inias’s face. “I suppose.” He kicked off his boots and settled underneath the blankets next to Dean, burying his face in the man’s chest. “Good night, Dean.”
Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel and breathed in his sweet scent. “Sweet dreams, Cas.”
/*/
Castiel did not work Inias for several days after the incident, and the gelding was improving every day. Dean had fed him his full amount of grain that morning and Inias had gobbled it up happily. It was almost scary to say, but Dean was sort of thankful Inias had coliced. Castiel had been treating Inias with much more care, but now he was doing the same with all of the horses. Even his relationship with Lucifer was improving. Castiel had been shown the cruel reality of how fragile the animals really were.
“I don’t know if I should still show Inias next weekend,” Castiel frowned as he dismounted Gabriel and handed Dean the reigns.
“Cas,” Dean began as he followed in behind the rider, “I promise you he is fine. He was ok to ride two days ago, I promise you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was itching for you to hop on him and have him work. He’s getting bored cooped up in the stall.”
“I know,” Castiel admitted with a frown, “but I’m just…,” there was a heavy sigh. “I’m over analyzing this, aren’t I?”
“Uh, a bit,” Dean nodded with a sly grin. “Why don’t I saddle him up for an easy dressage ride? Nothing too difficult, but just so he can show you that he is ready to go.”
Castiel frowned, biting slightly at his lip as the thought about it, before finally giving in. “Very well.”
“Awesome.” Dean made quick work of untacking Gabriel and cooling him out, itching to see Castiel take Inias out. Inias was not the calm and quiet gelding he usually was. The entire time Dean was grooming him he was moving about in anticipation, not standing still for more than a few seconds at a time. When Dean put the bit up to his mouth, he practically chomped down on it in excitement.
“Hm,” Castiel’s eyes narrowed in a squint, “Perhaps you were right. He seems…anxious.”
“Yeah, you think?” Dean replied sarcastically as he yanked on the reigns with annoyance. “Ok, seriously, dude, that’s enough.”
Castiel was able to give the gelding a complete workout. He had a huge spring to his step and he floated across the arena as Castiel asked him to extend his trot across the diagonal. Dean would have easily one as far to say that it was the best he had ever seen him. Maybe the few extra days off had rejuvenated him. When Castiel dismounted, there was a grin plastered on his face that made Dean feel lighter. “He looked good.”
“He felt incredible. You were right,” Castiel responded as he removed his helmet.
“I’m always right, Cas,” Dean responded with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “You’d do well to remember that.”
Castiel raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is that so? I thought you were the one who worked under me?”
“Technicalities, technicalities, Cas,” Dean waved him off. He settled Inias into the crossties, the gelding having worked off enough energy that he stood still.
“You know, I was thinking,” Castiel began nervously, his hands rubbing his upper arms.
“That so?” Dean asked as he fiddled with the saddle.
“Anna, her husband, and Chuck will all be gone this weekend at a show,” Castiel mentioned.
“Uh-huh. They’re going to Maryland, yeah I know,” Dean nodded.
“Yes. For four days. I was…,” Castiel cleared his throat and stared at the floor of the aisle. “I was wondering if you wanted to spend the weekend with me. At the house.”
Dean’s eyes shot up to Castiel in surprise. “You asking me to come home with you, Cas? Well, well, you dog.”
“I am not a dog, Dean,” Castiel huffed. “I was being serious.”
Dean threw his head back and laughed. “Jesus, Cas, we really do need to get you out more. I know you were being serious, and I’d love to spend the weekend with you. I’d love to have a full kitchen to cook with actually.”
“You cook?” Castiel asked curiously.
“Sure do,” he responded.
“Good, because I cannot. Anna is always the one to make the meals at the house,” he said as he took a seat and began wiping off his tall boots with a rag.
Dean leaned down as he walked by and placed a kiss on the man’s lips. “What would you do without me?”
“Have to order take out every night,” he responded with a smile. “I’d also have no one to clean my tack that needs cleaning tonight.”
Dean shot him a glare from the other side of Inias, “You sure do know how to kill the mood.”
/*/
Castiel and Dean had bid Anna farewell Thursday morning, and both men pitched in to help Bobby feed and clean that morning. Dean and Castiel were eager to get their work for the day done so that they could relax back at the house. Dean had never actually seen the inside of Castiel’s home, and it was far better than he could have imagined. The kitchen was huge with several ovens that he could not wait to make use of.
“I am so making pie,” Dean groaned in excitement as he moved around the kitchen.
“As wonderful as that sounds, perhaps we should wait for that until after dinner,” Castiel responded, reaching into the fridge for a bottle of water.
“You’re no fun,” Dean frowned. “Fine, what is it you want for lunch?”
“I’m not too picky. Whatever we have you are welcome to,” he responded as he took a seat at the bar and opened up his laptop.
Dean made mental note of the hamburger patties in the freezer for dinner, but decided on chicken wraps. Sam the health nut used to love them whenever Dean made them for him, and even Dean had to grown to like them with the right seasoning and sauces. It seemed like something Castiel would like. In the end, he had to make more than he originally planned because Castiel had enjoyed them so much. While Dean was cleaning the dishes, Castiel interrupted him taking his hand.
“Dean,” Castiel began, his eyes locked onto Dean’s. “Let’s go to bed.”
Dean shot the man a quizzical look. “Uh, Cas, it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon.”
“I know.”
Dean was about to ask him if he had hit his head sometime during the morning, when it suddenly dawned on him what Castiel meant. “Oh. Oh. Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “We should definitely go to bed.”
Castiel laced his fingers in Dean’s and began dragging him away to the bedroom.