After the End

Chapter Two

Dean woke the next morning before everyone else, so he thought he would make breakfast outside on the fire for a change. With the undead gone, for now at least, he felt comfortable enough on his own outside the bunker. He grabbed everything he needed to cook and set the fire, including a gun for safety measures, and made his way up top. He let the fire burn for a moment as he cleaned out his pots and sorted through his ingredients. He boiled some water, one pot for the rice and one for the coffee. It was made with water from the river, but it wouldn't kill them. It just may taste a little funny. As he let that cook, he sat off to the side, watching the sun rise as he thought to himself. Supplies were running low and he was tired of living in darkness. Now that the undead were basically gone, he was considering moving on to somewhere else. Maybe they could circle back to the bunker, but they had to go in search of more supplies. Once Sammy was healthy again, he'd bring up the idea.

Soon, the food was done and he brought it inside to set the table. He portioned out the rice between four plates, poured four cups of coffee and found some cups of creamer they had saved. He also gave everyone an energy bar, which was a luxury item he managed to find under the shelves at one of the grocery stores. Once everything was set up, he went to wake everyone. First, he woke Sam, sending him to the table. Then Jack, who was already up and staring at the wall, as if he couldn't leave the room. Dean gave him an odd look, but sent him to the kitchen to eat with Sam. Finally, he knocked on the door to where Cas slept, waiting for a reply before opening the door.

"Food's ready," Dean told him, noticing Cas was already dressed in his own clothes again. Dean stepped into the room, glancing around at the freshly cleaned space. His clothes were neatly folded in his dresser drawers, his dirty clothes piled into a basket he forgot he had. Everything on his desk was organized neatly, a candle lit up on the shelf to illuminate the cleanliness.  "Did you clean in here? Cas, you didn't have to do that." He felt a wave of embarrassment, thinking about Cas going through all of his things. It was a nice gesture, but this guy didn't even know Dean.

"I just wanted to repay you for everything you've done for us," Cas replied, looking away nervously, as if Dean would be angry that he cleaned up in here. While he was embarrassed that Cas probably picked up a lot of dirty clothes off the floor, he wasn't angry. "I promise, as soon as we eat, we'll be out of your hair." He acted like him being there was such a pain, but admittedly, Dean liked having someone else besides Sam in the bunker. He knew Castiel couldn't stay and he understood why. He just wanted to enjoy the company while he could. For now, they at least had breakfast.

"No rush," Dean assured him, waving him towards the door. "Now, go eat. I'll be in there in just a minute." He gently shoved Cas out into the hall, pointing him towards the dining room. Once he was gone, Dean grabbed one of his many duffle bags from under his bed. He put the clothes Cas slept in at the bottom of the bag, because there was no way Cas could keep wearing that suit everywhere. He also put a pair of jeans and a couple more shirts in the bag, in case he wanted something more comfortable. Since they had no protection, he even gave up one of his guns and some ammo, which he hoped Cas knew how to use. After he got everything from his room, he went to the kitchen, adding a few cans of food and some waters. He wanted to make sure they had enough supplies for the next few days, since there wasn't much left around here.

When the bag was full, he joined everyone in the dining room, carefully dropping the bag next to Cas' feet. Cas looked up at Dean with a questioning look, his mouth

half full of rice. "What's this for?" he asked finally.

Dean licked his lips, taking the seat next to Cas so he could eat too. "Just a couple things you might need for the next few days. I don't want you two starving to death out there." He didn't look at the angel, instead focusing on his food in front of him. They were all almost done eating and Dean hadn't touched his yet.