#thecreatorsnetwork

"But, it is working? Right?" Dean said, still not looking and he was pretty sure his ears were still burning with embarrassment.

"Hmmm... I dunno, perhaps you should keep trying." Damn, this guy. At the thought, Grace leaned over Castiel's arm and reached for Dean she didn't get anywhere except for grabbing the edge of his jacket. The girl had a strong grip and Dean looked to Castiel, who simply shrugged. "I guess she likes you, here," Castiel passed over the small child who let go of his jacket in the hand over and grabbed onto his shirt collar instead.

"Hey there," Dean greeted, and stood the child on his lap. "You've got your daddy's eyes don't you?" He smiled, winked at Cas and continued to coo over Grace. Dean made a face when she grabbed at his hair, pulling at it harshly.

"I probably should have warned you about that, she likes to grab people's hair." Dean knew that the tuft of hair he'd carefully styles that morning was now a mess.

"Hey, hands off the hair, kid!" Dean moved his hands from where he was keeping her upright and tried to prise her small fingers from his hair. Eventually she let go and Dean sat her back over with her father before running a hand through his hair, subtlety easing the small ache while restyling his hair. The voice over called out the next stop and Cas stood up, placing Grace back into the pram, with a little protest from the girl who huffed and kicked her legs.

"You get off here too?" He wondered.

"Not usually, there's a park here that's nice to walk around when the weather is sunny like this." "Belmont View Park? My flat looks over that park." Dean said.

"Really? Perhaps you would join us? I'm sure Grace wouldn't mind."

"That'd be nice. I'll run my stuff up to my flat and then maybe I can meet you, you know the big willow tree by the main path?" From what Dean had seen from his window, there was only one willow tree in that park so it should be hard to miss.

"I know the one, we sit under there for lunch if we go on the weekend."

"Great," they alighted the train and headed in the direction of the park. Castiel was playing around with the pram making the small child inside giggle and squeal.

After a while they were close to Dean's flat and he told them that he'd meet them at the willow tree in about fifteen minutes. Dean practically raced up the stairs and despite being out of breath while he unlocked the front door he rushed to change into his nicer jeans, a t-shirt that didn't smell of oil and grease and a red plaid shirt over the top. He scrubbed his face and doused himself in deodorant as he didn't have time to shower before grabbing his keys, phone and wallet and stuffing them into his pockets. He couldn’t quite work out why he was so excited, it wasn't like he had much of a chance with this guy, and he had a kid for crying out loud. Dean checked out the window and could see Castiel and Grace by the tree.

Castiel was sat on the grass keeping an eye on an adventurous Grace. Dean dashed back down the stairs, almost missing a step and giving himself an almost heart attack. Dean visited the coffee shop that was next door and bought himself a pumpkin spiced coffee and a latte for Cas.

When he saw a small carton of milk which he thought Grace might appreciate. He took the order to go and went to go find Cas and Grace whom he last saw sitting under the willow tree. Dean smiled when they came into view and Cas waved.

"Hey, again, I got you a latte, I hope it's okay. And for little Grace over there I got a small carton of milk."

"Thank you, Dean, I really appreciate it." Dean sat down next to Cas, shoulder to shoulder and once he was settled Cas placed his free hand on Dean's leg and smiled.

"I'm sure we can make this work." He said, out of context from anything but Dean grinned and knocked into his shoulder gently.

“I’m sure we can.”

“It was a gift. At least I can tell it from the thirty other black umbrellas in the office.” The man laughed and Dean did not miss the way his eyes crinkled at the edges.

“So, what does it stand for then?”

“Castiel James Novak. Most call me Cas though,” Castiel told him. “What about you? What’s your name, Agent…?”

“Dean Winchester.” He held out a hand for him as they began walking towards the precinct.

“Nice to meet you, Cas.” Dean could hear the heavy rain pounding on the umbrella and splashing at his feet. He tried his best to avoid large, deep puddles. Wet feet weren’t that comfy when you’re trying to file paperwork. The two of them stood under the umbrella was awkward, they’re built for single occupancy. At one point they bashed shoulders and when they turned to each other to apologise they both blushed.

“You into those sappy romance stories, Cas?” Dean wondered, he was sure he’d read a book once that had two people under an umbrella in the rain.

“No, not really, why would you ask such a thing?” He pondered. Dean just glanced at him, before trying to hide his smile.

“This is turning out to be,” Dean started before he felt wet seep through his dark blue, wool overcoat. “Will you cut it out!” Dean almost yelled. “I’ve got a wet shoulder now!” Dean pouted, tugging the fancy umbrella back towards him so he could remain dry.

“Sorry. Dean, were you flirting with me?” Castiel asked. Dean’s ears turned pink and Cas giggled.

“No, course not,” Dean replied before adding, “Unless you want me to flirt with you, some people say I’m pretty good at it.”

“I’m sure they do, Dean. What’s that line from that film?” Dean watched as Cas’ eyes squinted a little while he thought for a moment. “Oh yes! ‘You had me at hello’.” After that, Dean felt squirmy, a good kind of squirmy, the kind that made your heart warm to the point of melting, he didn’t care if it was cheesy. He then kept sneaking glances at Cas as they made their way closer to the precinct.

“So, The Coach House isn’t far from where we work, did you, um, wanna go for a drink once you’re done?” He said eventually when the precinct was in sight.

“I finish at five. I’ll see you there?” Cas asked.

“You certainly will.”