Congrats on 500 followers!!! My one word prompt is BEES!!
Every Saturday, Dean goes down to the local farmersā market.
Itās not, contrary to Samās gloating, because heās āfinally realized that you canāt live entirely on cheeseburgers, Dean,ā nor is it because he has the money to buy produce thatās locally grown (he doesnāt, but he still tries to buy a thing or two here and there).
No, he goes to the farmersā market because of the beekeeper.
The beekeeper is new to town, and had moved himself and his apiary into the old farming property down by the river. Dean had found out about his stall, āThe Business of Bees,ā when Sam had dragged him down to the farmersā market two months ago so that he could buy his organic kale, or some shit. Honestly, he doesnāt remember much from that day apart from piercing blue eyes and a voice like whiskey over gravel that has stuck with him every night since.
Ever since he discovered the farmersā market and the eclectic, attractive beekeeper, Dean has been head over heels. He knowsĀ that heās into this guy, and he would loveĀ to take him out to dinner sometime, butā¦ heās got absolutely no idea how. All the guys heās ever been with have started out as friends or hookups, but to ask a stranger out on a date?
Dean views himself as a confident man, but heās got zero experience in this area.
So he does his best to muddle his way throughāmaybe itāll be easier if they start out as friends?
The second time he had visited (withoutĀ his nosy moose of a brother), he had found out that the beekeeperās name was Castiel. Every week after that, he would make a few minutes of small talk, then buy a jar of honey before his cheeks could get too red and beat a hasty retreat.
Castielās jokes are terrible and heās always grumpy before heās had his morning coffee and he doesnāt understand half of the pop culture references Dean makes, but thatās okay, because Dean is smitten and he spends his whole week looking forward to Saturday, when he can talk to Cas and see him smile.
(And then go home and stare forlornly at the ever-expanding shelf of honey that heās collecting, because even though thereās no way he can eat it all himself, itās weird to hang around and talk to the guy without buying anything, right?)
The weeks turn into months, and a few minutes of small talk gradually becomes over an hour of talking, interrupted only whenever Castiel has to serve another customer. Dean watches him smile and talk with animation about his bees and his honey and thinks, wow, I really am fucked.
Today isnāt the right time to ask Cas outāthe guy seems nervous about something, and Dean doesnāt want to catch him in a bad mood just in case everything goes pear-shaped, because even if Cas doesnāt want to date him, he hopes that they can at least stay friends. Itās starting to get late now, and Dean has been here for almost two hours. Before he can make his usual honey purchase and say goodbye to Castiel for another week, though, Cas stops him in his tracks.
āI have something for you,ā he says, his cheeks tinged faintly with pink as he rummages around behind his table. When he pops back up, itās with a small, cloth-wrapped bundle in his palms. Dean tries not to shiver at the brush of Casās fingers as he hands over the gift.
Itās solid, but not heavy, and Dean can feel Casās gaze on him as he unwraps the cloth with curious fingers, draping the fabric off the edges of his hand to reveal the gift.
In Deanās palm is a heart-shaped beeswax candle. Engraved carefully into the wax in cursive are the words: Bee mine?
Itās cheesy and adorable and when Dean leaves the farmersā market another hour later with the candle in his pocket, Casās number in his phone and a date scheduled for tonight, he canāt keep the smile off his face.
