Fic: Dog-walker!Castiel...
I have decided that since this week will probably be Hell for most of us, I'm going to share some Dean/Castiel fluff/schmoop/random feel-good stuffs every day this week.
Hopefully it'll also help with the Dean/Castiel blues still lingering from last night's Writer's Screw-up.
Today, I have Human AU, Dogwalker!Cas for you :oP Originally written for AprilTwitfic on Twitter, I kinda liked the idea and it grew into a giant twitfic/twovel thing. I'm kinda toying around with the idea of writing an actual fic for the idea, but... this'll have to do for now ;o)
Title: Twitfic: Dogwalker!Cas
Rating: Mostly G, maybe a snippet of PG/PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Dean/Castiel, Sam
Genre: Mostly fluff, one small piece of almost-angst, and obvs romance ;o)
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: ~1,100
Summary: Dean hires a dog-walker after breaking his leg. Adventure with Castiel the dog-walker and Zep the German shepherd ensues. Human AU.
Dean kinda hates Sam for suggesting he get a dog walker for Zep. But after that incident involving Zep’s leash, Dean’s crutches, and the neighbor’s holly bush, even he has to admit that trying to walk her with a broken leg is just a tad impractical. It’s not until he answers the door and sees the bluest eyes he’s ever seen staring at him, hears a gravelly voice say, “Mr. Winchester? I’m Castiel, the dogwalker,” that he starts to think maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
*
“Uh,” Dean says, making room for Castiel to enter as Zep comes bolting to the door. Dean tries to ignore the way Castiel’s smile crinkles his nose as he bends down to greet Zep.
“Dean,” he finally gets out. “It’s Dean.”
“Hello, Dean,” Cas croons to the dog. “Aren’t you a handsome dog.”
*
Dean doesn’t exchange more than a few sentences with Cas when he comes to walk Zep. But from those few sentences, he’s found Cas like opera, is allergic to chocolate, and is halfway through the original Russian edition of Crime and Punishment. When Cas picks up Zep for the sixth time, Dean finds himself wanting to know more.
“I need the exercise,” Dean says at Cas’s shocked expression when he hobbles out after them and joins them for their walk.
*
“So, I was thinking,” Dean says, pausing before paying Cas for the week. “You wanna come over for dinner? Next week?”
Cas’s response is immediate, and Dean will be ashamed with himself later for the huge-ass smile he can’t seem to hold back.
“Yes,” Cas says. “Show me Zep’s routine and I’ll take care of her.”
Dean’s smile disappears.
*
“Maybe he was being cryptic,” Sam says the next day.
“I don’t think so,” Dean snaps.
“He’s kinda… weird,” Sam stutters over the last word at Dean’s puzzled frown. “Maybe he was just-”
“He asked if Zep preferred wet or dry food, Sam.”
“…Oh.”
*
Sam’s Wednesday class is canceled, so he finally manages to talk to Cas.
“You know,” he says once Dean exits the room to get Sam a drink, “he was asking you out, not to take care of the dog.”
Cas looks up from petting Zep. “What?”
“He likes you.” Sam explains and tries not to smile at the faint blush that turns Cas’s ears pink.
*
“There’s a restaurant,” Cas says on Friday. “They allow dogs.”
Dean leans on the door frame. “You want to take Zep out on a date, Cas?” This would be funny, if Dean could stop daydreaming about the man.
Cas’s eyes narrow. “I… You wouldn’t have to leave her at home.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink in.
“You’re asking me on a date?”
Cas nods, and Dean’s huge-ass smile is back.
*
“German shepherds are extremely smart,” Cas says seriously.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Dean responds, reaching for the cassette player he keeps on the kitchen counter. “Watch this.” He presses play and he smiles as Zep starts howling along to Ramble On. “Knows all the words,” he says.
He’s too busy watching Zep to see the smile Cas gives him.
*
Dean blames the crutches. No way is he gonna blame Zep, even if she is the one who runs a circle around him and Cas before they have a chance to remove her leash. But Cas reaches for him, arms going around his waist to keep him up, and then it’s easy to lean forward and finally, after three dates and fifteen more walks, see what it’s like to kiss the serious from Cas’s lips. If afterward, as Cas presses a kiss to his shoulder, he hears a whispered “Good dog” and the slap of Zep’s tail against the floor, he’s totally not gonna blame Cas.
*
“Y’know,” Dean tells Cas as he watches him roll around on the floor with Zep and her favorite squeaky toy, “sometimes I think you only agreed to go out with me just to get to Zep.”
Cas cups Zep’s head in his hands, presses his face close to hers.
“He’s found out our secret,” he says. Zep’s tail thumps against the ground.
“Shut it,” Dean grumbles.
“And he’s jealous.”
Dean rolls his eyes, starts to get up from the couch. But Cas’s hand on his shoulder pushes him back down.
An hour later, Dean comes out of a light doze to Cas’s arms tight around his waist, body pressed close against his back. “Still jealous?” Cas whispers in his ear.
*
“It’s gonna rain,” Dean complains. “No way are we going to the park.” Dean looks up to see the same wide-eyed pleading on all their faces, and he doesn’t know who’s worse: Cas, Sam, or Zep.
*
“It’s not my business,” Cas says.
Dean looks up. “What? But I thought-”
“It’s a summer job. My brother Gabriel owns the business.” Cas bends down to retrieve the ball from Zep’s mouth, throws it. “I teach the rest of the year.”
*
“Teaching or dog-walking?”
Castiel’s head tilts as he ponders Dean’s question. Dean tries not to laugh at the fact he’s seen Zep do the exact same thing on occasion.
“I like them both,” Cas finally answers. “But…” he looks to Zep, who’s calmly waiting for her dinner, “dogs are easier to train.”
*
Dean has no idea how Cas ended up with the controller tonight. Rin Tin Tin is on the TV & he’s about to tell Cas to change the channel when Cas asks, “Do you ever think about training Zep for police work?”
Dean huffs a laugh. “Did. She can help in an emergency if needed, but she failed puppy training. She’s too much of a chicken shit to go after the real bad guys.”
“I’m glad,” Cas says.
Dean would be upset, but he catches the sudden sobriety in Castiel’s words.
“Cas?”
“One of you in the line of fire is enough.”
“Relax,” Dean mumbles. “They still got me at a desk job with this leg.”
But he settles closer to Cas as he lets Rin Tin Tin remain on the TV
*
Dean stares at Cas as he walks into the house.
“What the hell happened to you?”
There’s a twig sticking out of Cas’s hair, dirt smudged all over his pants, and what Dean’s pretty sure is leash burn on his wrist.
“Never,” Cas huffs as he sinks into the couch, “ever, get a retriever puppy.”
Hopefully it'll also help with the Dean/Castiel blues still lingering from last night's Writer's Screw-up.
Today, I have Human AU, Dogwalker!Cas for you :oP Originally written for AprilTwitfic on Twitter, I kinda liked the idea and it grew into a giant twitfic/twovel thing. I'm kinda toying around with the idea of writing an actual fic for the idea, but... this'll have to do for now ;o)
Title: Twitfic: Dogwalker!Cas
Rating: Mostly G, maybe a snippet of PG/PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Dean/Castiel, Sam
Genre: Mostly fluff, one small piece of almost-angst, and obvs romance ;o)
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: ~1,100
Summary: Dean hires a dog-walker after breaking his leg. Adventure with Castiel the dog-walker and Zep the German shepherd ensues. Human AU.
Dean kinda hates Sam for suggesting he get a dog walker for Zep. But after that incident involving Zep’s leash, Dean’s crutches, and the neighbor’s holly bush, even he has to admit that trying to walk her with a broken leg is just a tad impractical. It’s not until he answers the door and sees the bluest eyes he’s ever seen staring at him, hears a gravelly voice say, “Mr. Winchester? I’m Castiel, the dogwalker,” that he starts to think maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
*
“Uh,” Dean says, making room for Castiel to enter as Zep comes bolting to the door. Dean tries to ignore the way Castiel’s smile crinkles his nose as he bends down to greet Zep.
“Dean,” he finally gets out. “It’s Dean.”
“Hello, Dean,” Cas croons to the dog. “Aren’t you a handsome dog.”
*
Dean doesn’t exchange more than a few sentences with Cas when he comes to walk Zep. But from those few sentences, he’s found Cas like opera, is allergic to chocolate, and is halfway through the original Russian edition of Crime and Punishment. When Cas picks up Zep for the sixth time, Dean finds himself wanting to know more.
“I need the exercise,” Dean says at Cas’s shocked expression when he hobbles out after them and joins them for their walk.
*
“So, I was thinking,” Dean says, pausing before paying Cas for the week. “You wanna come over for dinner? Next week?”
Cas’s response is immediate, and Dean will be ashamed with himself later for the huge-ass smile he can’t seem to hold back.
“Yes,” Cas says. “Show me Zep’s routine and I’ll take care of her.”
Dean’s smile disappears.
*
“Maybe he was being cryptic,” Sam says the next day.
“I don’t think so,” Dean snaps.
“He’s kinda… weird,” Sam stutters over the last word at Dean’s puzzled frown. “Maybe he was just-”
“He asked if Zep preferred wet or dry food, Sam.”
“…Oh.”
*
Sam’s Wednesday class is canceled, so he finally manages to talk to Cas.
“You know,” he says once Dean exits the room to get Sam a drink, “he was asking you out, not to take care of the dog.”
Cas looks up from petting Zep. “What?”
“He likes you.” Sam explains and tries not to smile at the faint blush that turns Cas’s ears pink.
*
“There’s a restaurant,” Cas says on Friday. “They allow dogs.”
Dean leans on the door frame. “You want to take Zep out on a date, Cas?” This would be funny, if Dean could stop daydreaming about the man.
Cas’s eyes narrow. “I… You wouldn’t have to leave her at home.”
It takes a moment for the words to sink in.
“You’re asking me on a date?”
Cas nods, and Dean’s huge-ass smile is back.
*
“German shepherds are extremely smart,” Cas says seriously.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Dean responds, reaching for the cassette player he keeps on the kitchen counter. “Watch this.” He presses play and he smiles as Zep starts howling along to Ramble On. “Knows all the words,” he says.
He’s too busy watching Zep to see the smile Cas gives him.
*
Dean blames the crutches. No way is he gonna blame Zep, even if she is the one who runs a circle around him and Cas before they have a chance to remove her leash. But Cas reaches for him, arms going around his waist to keep him up, and then it’s easy to lean forward and finally, after three dates and fifteen more walks, see what it’s like to kiss the serious from Cas’s lips. If afterward, as Cas presses a kiss to his shoulder, he hears a whispered “Good dog” and the slap of Zep’s tail against the floor, he’s totally not gonna blame Cas.
*
“Y’know,” Dean tells Cas as he watches him roll around on the floor with Zep and her favorite squeaky toy, “sometimes I think you only agreed to go out with me just to get to Zep.”
Cas cups Zep’s head in his hands, presses his face close to hers.
“He’s found out our secret,” he says. Zep’s tail thumps against the ground.
“Shut it,” Dean grumbles.
“And he’s jealous.”
Dean rolls his eyes, starts to get up from the couch. But Cas’s hand on his shoulder pushes him back down.
An hour later, Dean comes out of a light doze to Cas’s arms tight around his waist, body pressed close against his back. “Still jealous?” Cas whispers in his ear.
*
“It’s gonna rain,” Dean complains. “No way are we going to the park.” Dean looks up to see the same wide-eyed pleading on all their faces, and he doesn’t know who’s worse: Cas, Sam, or Zep.
*
“It’s not my business,” Cas says.
Dean looks up. “What? But I thought-”
“It’s a summer job. My brother Gabriel owns the business.” Cas bends down to retrieve the ball from Zep’s mouth, throws it. “I teach the rest of the year.”
*
“Teaching or dog-walking?”
Castiel’s head tilts as he ponders Dean’s question. Dean tries not to laugh at the fact he’s seen Zep do the exact same thing on occasion.
“I like them both,” Cas finally answers. “But…” he looks to Zep, who’s calmly waiting for her dinner, “dogs are easier to train.”
*
Dean has no idea how Cas ended up with the controller tonight. Rin Tin Tin is on the TV & he’s about to tell Cas to change the channel when Cas asks, “Do you ever think about training Zep for police work?”
Dean huffs a laugh. “Did. She can help in an emergency if needed, but she failed puppy training. She’s too much of a chicken shit to go after the real bad guys.”
“I’m glad,” Cas says.
Dean would be upset, but he catches the sudden sobriety in Castiel’s words.
“Cas?”
“One of you in the line of fire is enough.”
“Relax,” Dean mumbles. “They still got me at a desk job with this leg.”
But he settles closer to Cas as he lets Rin Tin Tin remain on the TV
*
Dean stares at Cas as he walks into the house.
“What the hell happened to you?”
There’s a twig sticking out of Cas’s hair, dirt smudged all over his pants, and what Dean’s pretty sure is leash burn on his wrist.
“Never,” Cas huffs as he sinks into the couch, “ever, get a retriever puppy.”