After the End

Chapter Twenty-Four

Every day since Kaia's return felt like walking on eggshells. Dean kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Kaia to turn up missing again, or for Claire to not show up for work every morning because she'd been taken. Dean didn't tell anyone about the man he saw in the woods the night he found Kaia, but he didn't stop looking either. The man was nowhere to be found. Not in the abandoned houses surrounding the neighborhood, or in the woods outside the gate, and he sure as hell didn't live in the neighborhood. It was as if the guy was a part of Dean's imagination.

It had been a week since anything had happened. Dean's return to work had been pretty smooth aside from the first day with John. He'd been out the past few days with Sam, finding every excuse to check out the abandoned houses and the area he last saw the strange man in the woods. Before that, he was on supply runs with Jo and Claire, who constantly badgered him about details of his and Cas' relationship he refused to give up. Aside from Dean not being able to find anything on the dude he saw out in the woods, it had been a successful week. No more disappearances, no more fights with John. . . just peaceful silence.

Today was Dean's first day off since he got back in the game. He planned on sleeping in and spending it in bed all day, preferably with Cas next to him, since it was also his day off. Tomorrow after work, he had to go to dinner with John, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo, so he wanted a stress free day before diving into that hell.

Dean's plan of sleeping in went out the window as soon as Cas woke up. The angel untangled himself from Dean's arms and slipped out of bed with a kiss to Dean's temple, which was how most mornings started. Dean tried slipping back into a blissful sleep, and for maybe twenty minutes, he succeeded. He was woken up again by warm hands gently caressing his bare skin, light kisses along his jaw as Cas whispered Dean's name against his skin.

"Cas, please," Dean mumbled half-heartedly, not trying to push him away, but still half asleep.

Cas chuckled softly, carding a hand through Dean's bedhead. "It's our day off, Dean," he said, kissing the corner of Dean's mouth.

"That's why I'm still sleeping," Dean grumbled, but wrapped his arms around Cas anyways, pulling him down onto the bed to attach himself to the angel's side. They hadn't had much alone time with Sam and Jack at home, so Dean figured they could spend today doing things they could only do while alone, but not yet. Sleep was also very important. Almost as good as sex, Dean thought.

"But we're alone," Cas argued with an amused laugh. Dean cracked one eye open to see Cas' smiling face, snuggling in closer to him. "I thought you said the next time we were alone, we could-"

"I did," Dean cut him off, his face a little red. "Are you in a hurry to get my clothes off or something?" he teased, his eyes adjusting to the light coming through the window as he looked up at Cas, all wide awake and looking refreshed from a night of sleep.

Cas blushed, resting a gentle hand against Dean's cheek. "No hurry," he replied, licking his lips hesitantly. "I still wish you would get up. I brought you breakfast." Dean stared at his adorable expression a few seconds longer, unable to resist.

"Alright, angel, I'm up," he sighed, wiggling out of Cas' arms so he could sit up all the way. He took in the sight of Cas still laying next to him, propped up on one of his arms. He was wearing jeans and Dean's favorite shirt, which now seemed like Cas' favorite shirt too.

They moved to the dining room, Dean still in only his sweats as they sat next to each other at the table. Cas placed a plate of food and coffee in front of Dean as they dug in, letting a comfortable silence settle over them for a few minutes. As Dean groggily took a long sip of coffee, he suddenly felt Cas' hand cover his own where it rested on the table next to his plate. When he sat his cup down to look at the angel, Cas was already staring at him.