He Lives In Lawrence || Destiel AU

07 ~ Hotter Than A Ceiling Fire

Three Days Later

Unknown number: Heyy Cas! it's Dean. you gave me your number on the receipt a while back and I just thought I'd text you.

GayBoy: Hi Dean :) anything specific you wanted to text me about?

Castiel quickly added Dean's number into his contacts and named him Soulmate. If all his other contacts were very blunt facts about the people they belonged to, he figured that Dean's should be the same.

Soulmate: idk. i just wanted to talk i guess.

Soulmate: the picnic was really good, we should do that again sometime.

GayBoy: are you asking me on a date? ;)

Soulmate: no

Soulmate: yes

Soulmate: a friendly date

Soulmate: maybe

Soulmate: as in not a romantic date

Soulmate: but still kind of romantic?

Soulmate: but not romantic

Soulmate: sorry

GayBoy: why not a romantic date??

Soulmate: i can't. i'm really sorry.

GayBoy: could it be romantic if we weren't in public?

Soulmate: idk

GayBoy: ok, how about you come to my house and it can be not at all romantic but still kind of romantic?? :)

GayBoy: sound good?

Soulmate: sure. that'd be great, Cas

A minute later, Cas had given Dean his address and he'd replied telling him he was on his way. Castiel chucked his phone onto his bed and went to stand in front of the tall mirror on his wall. He was wearing burgundy sweatpants, an oversized t-shirt advertising a TV show he was no longer a fan of and no shoes. His hair was a mess and he raked his hands through it, trying in vain to tame it. Sighing, Cas tugged his shirt off and went over to his closet to find a different one, hopefully that advertised something he liked. He picked out a Neutral Milk Hotel t-shirt, returning to the mirror with it. It wasn't official merchadise, but rather a fan-made shirt he'd found on eBay for £3.99.

Just as he was about to put the shirt on, Cas' gaze landed on his ribs. Almost all his life, his chest, back and stomach had been littered with ugly purple and yellow shades. When he was younger, his mother had taken him to the doctor's, assuming it was some strange skin condition, but the nurse had assured her it was nothing wrong with Castiel, but rather bruises on his soulmate. This had lead him to assume that his soulmate was bullied a lot, but having met Dean, he didn't strike Cas as the type of person to be picked on. He seemed like he could fight back.

Cas poked at the bruises. There were a few on his arms too and occasionally there'd been really nasty ones of his face. Some had even streaked his face with red smudges and dribbles. Blood. He thought about Dean; how did he get all these bruises? Who was doing this to him? Deciding against asking him when he arrived, Cas slipped the t-shirt over his head and felt the soft fabric settle against his ribcage. He wondered if it hurt Dean to put a t-shirt on. What happened when he went to the beach? Did he go shirtless or keep his t-shirt on in fear of people asking questions?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, causing him to jolt out of his thoughts. Running a hand through his hair one last time, he sprinted down the stairs to the front door. Gabe had gotten to the door first and was now flirting with a very uncomfortable looking Dean.