The demanding life of a teenager [Destiel AU]

The relationship expert

"Well, that was certainly... I want to say interesting", Dean announced as he stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him. In front of him, he could hear Cas chuckle in agreement.

Dean leaned back against the front door of his house as he kicked off his shoes, hitting a pair of unfamiliar Converse with his own - one of them green and the other one blue. Dean figured Sam must have someone over.

It was burning hot outside that particular day – so hot that Dean for a second almost had regretted not wearing shorts. He had shrugged that thought away fairly quickly though. He really didn't do shorts. But now that he was finally inside, Dean wanted nothing more than to just lie down on the couch with something cold to drink and simply relax.

They had just come home from Cas' house, where they had spent the morning. Cas' parents had gotten a kitten a few days ago, and had surprised them by inviting Dean over to meet it. Dean strongly suspected that the kitten was some kind of a rebound child now that both the Novak children soon would have moved out.

Dean almost didn't dare to hope it was true, but he had a feeling that Cas' parents approved more of him these days. Not only had they (for the first time since they had found out about him and Cas) actually invited him over to their house, but they also seemed more relaxed around him. Even Cas' mother had on more than one occasion started talking to him like he was a worthwhile person – that was some real progress. Maybe they just had gotten more used to him after all the time he'd spent over at their house lately, but they actually seemed have become more fond of him. Whatever it was, Dean was genuinely happy for it.

He didn't know exactly why he cared so much. It probably shouldn't be this important to him what Cas' parents thought of him - it certainly didn't seem at all to influence what Cas did or thought. But whenever Dean tried to imagine having a boyfriend whom Sam disliked, it made him question whether someone actually could completely ignore their family's opinions. He feared they might always influence you, even if you weren't aware of it yourself.

The Novak's kitten had been tiny and completely adorable, but also really shy. Cas – being the animal lover that he was - was the only one patient enough to be able to approach the pet, and even he had to sometimes use food as bait to lure it close. Still, whenever he happened to make an abrupt movement, the kitten would dart under the couch and it would take ages to lure it back out again.

Cas and Dean had decided to leave after the kitten had decided to hide behind the fridge, finally tired of trying to make it come back out from its creative hiding places.

"So", Dean said. He used the back of his hand to wipe some sweat away from his forehead. Again, he started to regret his choice of clothing. It was like a freaking sauna in there! Maybe he would take a cold shower (with Cas, of course) before sitting down to watch TV for the rest of the day. Cause one thing was certain: once he had lain down on that couch, nothing could get him up. "How does it feel to be replaced with a kitten by your parents?"

Cas grinned as he pulled at his t-shirt in a half-hearted attempt to fan himself. "Okay, I guess. I've always found the house one species short anyway. And they could have replaced me with worse thing - he was super cute."

Cas smiled fondly at the memory. Then his eyes suddenly widened and got an exited glow to them, as if he'd thought of something particularly important. "By the way", he continued, his voice filled with enthusiasm, "did you know that a cat's penis is sharply barbed along its shaft?"

Dean blinked in surprise. That was not what he'd expected.

"What now?"

"Just a fun fact."