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It had been a while since they had a case. All of them sitting around going stir crazy in the bunker had them jumping with glee to clear out a vamp nest in Oklahoma.
“Oh hello there gorgeous,” Dean ran his hand along his classic car’s sleek, black frame, “man I missed you baby!”
“Dean, this car is not a young child,” Cas remarked with his signature head tilt, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at said car as if he was trying to see the said baby with x-ray vision. Dean rolled his eyes while Sam chuckled.
“It’s an expression Cas, ‘baby’ is for things or people you ah…” he looked to Dean for help but the older man shot him a look that had ‘you’re on your own here’ written all over it. Dean turned to inspect the Impala, looking for scratches or any other war crimes. “That you really like,” Sam finished anticlimactically.
“Hm..” Cas pondered, “I suppose that makes sense, humans do like their offspring quite a bit.”
“Baby is a beauty ain’t she, never gives up on me,” Dean mused, opening the driver seat door with a creak.
“Dean, you’ve had to rebuild this car like 3 times,” Sam corrected.
“Ah ah ah,” he tsked, “She’s still here though! Come on let’s just go.”
Cas kept thinking about the name. He wanted to relate to the Winchester brothers, perhaps using their ‘lingo’ would help , he figured.
~
Some severed heads, bruised knuckles, and thorough showers later the boys were back at the bunker at last. Dean was just back from a much needed grocery run, shopping bags full and heavy when Cas spoke up,
“Ah, Hello Dean, you’re back. Thank you baby,” he gave a soft smile trying to imitate Dean’s behavior when he saw the car. Sam spit out his drink, the beer spewing all over the table. Dean almost dropped the bags in hand. His eyes were wide and a suspicious pink flush was creeping up from his neck to his cheeks. His jaw lightly hung open. “Did I say something wrong?” the angel racked his brain to figure out the mistake that stopped the hunters in their tracks so abruptly.
“Nope, not at all, just right Cas,” Sam managed to squeeze out between bouts of uncontrollable laughter that doubled him in half. He threw his head back in his chair cackling. Dean on the other hand, had not moved from his place 2 feet from the table, frozen in his tracks.
“I’m trying to use more human vernacular,” Cas explained.
“By calling me...BABY?!” Dean sputtered, the flush reaching his ears now.
“Yes,” he nodded surely, “are you alright Dean? You look feverish,” he walked closer, his finger reaching for the blonde’s forehead, ready to cure.
“Ah, no,” he stepped back nearly tripping over his own feet, hands up in a defensive pose, “I’m good, everything’s fine, no fever,” he chuckled nervously.
“Right…ok then,” Cas conceded. He eyed the men suspiciously, as if they knew something he didn’t. After a moment of just listening to Sam weeze, he turned his head, giving the tell tale sign that he was hearing angel radio. “I must go,” he said with a sigh, and so before Dean could ask what the actual fuck , the angel was gone in a breeze and small flap of wings.
“What just happened??” Dean stormed over to his brother and the shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
“OooOOo, Dean’s blushing cause Cas called him babbyyy,” Sam teased.
“I-i’m not blushing!” his hand quickly covered the back of his neck, “Why didn’t you correct him??”
“Hm, Why didn’t you?..” Sam countered raising his eyebrows, “Plus, it’s about time.” He stood up to go put the groceries in the kitchen before it all went bad.
“What does that mean?!” Dean yelled at his little brother as the man walked away still laughing.
~
This went on for some time. Cas would join them on hunts and occasionally slip the pet name in there, his classic ‘Hello Dean’ replaced with ‘Hello baby’ as Dean.exe would stop working. Sam was no help, just laughing and enjoying the show from the sidelines.
“Hey Cas, ya know some of us shorten it to babe instead,” He suggested wickedly as Dean shot him a panicked warning look.
“Hm..That makes sense. The syllable reduction is quite catchy, thank you Sam,” he mused and turned to Dean,
“How are you babe?” and Dean’s soul slowly but surely left his body.
~
They were checking into a motel for the night, far from home in Arkansas. Dean was chatting up the receptionist while Sam rolled his eyes and Cas trifled through the tourism pamphlets on the wall.
“Dean?” he called but got no response. They were there on aliases so for legal reasons he wouldn’t answer to ‘dean’. Cas frowned, “Babe?” he tried. Dean sighed, the treacherous blush still making its way across his face. No matter how many times the angel said it, Dean still got flustered.
“Yeah Cas, what’s up?” he turned to face the brunette, letting sam handle the flirty woman behind the desk.
“How would a view from a mountain, knock someone’s socks off? That sounds suspicious, maybe something in our wheelhouse? A case?” He didn’t take his eyes off the hiking advertisement in his hands.
“It’s an expression man, not literal,” Dean chuckled, slightly exasperated.
“But why socks?..” Cas mumbled under his breath, still unable to understand the phrase. The receptionist spoke up,
“So two beds? One for the couple there and one for the handsome young man right here?” she gestured to Sam. Dean’s eyes went wide,
“Um, huh? NO,” He said a bit too loudly, “er no, we’re not a couple,” he added to clarify.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I just thought…” she never finished the thought as an awkward silence spread over the four of them.
“Yeah, um two beds please,” Sam filled in and they got their keys.
~
Dean drank beer and poured over a book on one side of the table while Sam had 14 tabs open on the computer going through more lore while Cas just stared out the window peacefully.
“Why did that lady think me and Dean were a couple?” he asked, breaking the intense air of concentration in the room. Dean sent an S.O.S. look at Sam hoping he would handle it. The younger hunter chuckled and closed his laptop.
“Um, well usually ‘babe’ and ‘baby’ are terms of affection used by….uh lovers,” he explained.
“So you and the car are…” Cas tilted his head in evident confusion. Dean choked on his beer a little,
“NO, no,” he clarified, “that’s different.”
“Right. I apologize,” Cas paused, “I just think you are very beautiful and you never give up on me, so I figured it would be an appropriate name,” the angel admitted. The older hunter’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets and his mouth gaped like a fish. Sam quickly and awkwardly got up and grabbed his coat,not wanting to get in their way. He’d been waiting years for this,
“I’m gonna go get...er snacks, y’all should talk,” and he edged out of the room, ignoring the look of desperation from Dean.
“Good idea, don’t forget the pie, Dean likes pie,” Cas added.
“Er...right,” he nodded, taking the keys from the table. The door slammed gently behind him.
“I will refrain from calling you ‘babe’ or ‘baby’ in the future,” Cas promised, doing his usual incorrect and exaggerated air quotes. “I wasn’t aware it made you uncomfortable, I am sorry Dean,” he finished.
“Well ya know.. I don’t mind that much,” Dean said quietly. Now it was the angel’s turn to look surprised. The hunter fiddled with his hands in his lap, their eyes not meeting.
“Oh, so I can continue?..” Cas asked.
“Er...whatever floats your boat man.”
The angel smiled brightly and nodded in confirmation. Dean’s eyes softened a little bit at the display of something so pure. He wanted Cas to smile more, he would work on that.
“Well Imma hit the sack,” Dean said, taking off his prized flannel and grabbing his jacket.
“What sack? What did it do wrong?” Cas asked, genuine concern in his voice. Dean laughed, a full bodied, heartfelt laugh. His line of work didn’t provoke that kind of laugh very often, it was a sight for sore eyes. It was Cas’s turn to have a soft look and gentle smile.
“It’s an expression, I’m going to bed,” he clarified.
“Hm...you humans have a lot of those it seems,” the angel sighed. Dean plopped onto the bed and spread his jacket on top of him.
“Dean, why don’t you use the blanket that’s there? Your jacket isn’t very big,” Cas asked with confusion.
“If there’s a threat I don’t have time to get tangled in sheets. It’s easier this way”
“What if you get cold? You humans get cold quite easily.” Dean sighed.
“I’ll be alright,” he promised.
“Well I don’t sleep so if there’s a threat I’ll take care of it. Use the blankets, They’re warmer right?” the angel argued.
“Ah..yeah ok then,” he snuggled under the sheets, letting them weigh him down, “thanks Cas,” he mumbled in his sleepy voice. The brunette nodded.
“Of course Dean. Goodnight baby,” he added absentmindedly. The phrase filled the hunter up making him all warm and fuzzy inside. The blankets were warmer and the pet name rolled over him in gentle waves. Cas turned off the lights and for the first time in a long time, Dean felt he could sleep safely. He drifted, the exhaustion pulling him into a deep, pleasant, mercifully dreamless sleep. Because this time he knew an angel really was watching over him.