"Dude, my soulmate is an astronaut"

Dean faked a shiver as he snatched a bottle from the fridge. "I thought we agreed NOT to talk about Cupids anymore. Not after I was hugged by a naked, stupidly smiling man-baby", he quipped, pointing an accusatory finger to his brother. "It's not like you're wrong though. I could ask him about my rocket woman!"

Sam try not to laugh, out of mere politeness. "Yeah, well. Maybe wait a bit before you mention it. I doubt Cas would have come back to talk to you about your soulmate."

Dean got back to his seat, letting himself fall on it. "I know that. Whatever it is worrying him though, I sure hope it has nothing to do with the impending end of the world. At least this once", he added, opening his beer.

"Yeah", Sam replied, with a bitter smile. "That'd be nice, for a change."

Castiel actually did come back freshly cleaned and changed - safe for the usual trench coat -, but he looked as awkward as before. He entered the room carefully, and sat down on one of the chairs, apparently still trying to cope with something. He was starting to wonder whether angel/human threads had something special to them, and if he was the only one seeing it so far. If yes, he figured he'd better act as if it were nothing.

Dean shared a look with Sam, before clearing his throat. "So. Cas. How are you doing?", he asked, casually. "How are things going up in heaven?" He figured it would have been better to start slow.

"Things are... quiet. Good," Cas replied, his voice a bit raspy. "And how are you two doing ?"

Sam arched a brow, confused. Well. Castiel rarely left Heaven just to check on them. Granted, it was nice, but also seemed a bit... off. He shared a look with Dean.

Dean made a face at Sam, as if to say 'Welp, he is totally not himself'. "Same as usual. Sam is being a nerd, I am being awesome", he answered, pointing to his brother's open book about Ghouls. "Any... reason in particular you're here now? Need help with something?", he tried again.

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean mentionned his nerdiness, but made no further comment.

Castiel hesitated for a few seconds, before he cleared his throat. "I, uh. I needed to stay away from Heaven for a while, and figured I would maybe- help you on the job."

Dean hummed. He wasn't really that convinced, but apparently 'need to stay away from home for a bit' was the best they could get for now. "Well, we aren't gonna say no to some extra help if a case pops up. And you can stay here for as long as you want", he added.

"Thank you", Castiel replied, still a bit uneasy. But pretending everything was fine actually reassured him.
"Well," Sam answered, as he looked at his watch. "I'm hungry. How about I fetch us some pizzas for a change?"

Dean pointed at his brother. "That's actually a great idea. You know what I want on it already, right?" He opened his pc, turning it on. Maybe looking for a case wasn't a bad idea.

"Extra bacon, extra cheese," Sam answered flatly, as he stood up. "The usual for you too, Castiel ?" The angel nodded. Granted, he did not need to eat, but he sometimes appreciated to share a meal with his friends. When Sam had exited the bunker, he looked at Dean, still trying to cope with the new situation.

Dean tapped absently on his computer. He was feeling a bit worried, but he wanted to believe that if it was something really bad, Cas would have told them. Maybe he just needed some distraction from all the shit that was probably going down back at home. "Hey, Cas. Just tell me something. The world's not ending right now, right? 'cause I was kinda hoping to have the time to rewatch a couple movies this weekend", he only half joked, glancing back at him.

"No," Castiel replied without hesitating a single bit. "I just- I came down for personal reasons, Dean. You shouldn't worry about it," he sighed.

Dean raised a brow. It was clear that, whatever it was, was enough to trouble him. But, if it was personal as he said, it wasn't as if he could push him to talk. After all, he wasn't really that sharing either, when he was having bad stuff happening. "Alright", he just shrugged, getting up. "You want a beer?"

"I could use one, yes," Castiel replied, as he looked intensively at Dean. "Has... Anything changed, since I last came ?"

Dean hummed, retrieving a beer from the fridge and sliding it over to his friend. Something that had changed... he sat down at his place again, sprawled out on the chair. Then he beamed. "Oh! Yeah. Man, you gotta check this out. Look at what I got!" He gazed up to look at his thread, like he had done a lot that day, pointing at it. But all he could do was frown. "...what the hell. Where did it go?"

Castiel licked his lips, slowly. Granted, angels could see any soulmate thread, but then again, it was the reason why he had left Heaven earlier. He cleared his throat, and, quite awkwardly, raised his own pinky while staring at Dean.

Dean raised up his own pinky, staring at it with a dumbfounded expression. His brows furrowed as he looked back at his friend, who for some reason had mirrored his gesture. He stared. And stared some more. '... nah, no way.' He moved the finger a bit, experimentally, cautiously.

Castiel watched as the thread moved so slightly between them, and made a wider gesture, to show Dean that no, it was not a mistake. Then he joined his hands, and sighed, looking down for a few seconds. "I would understand if you do not wish to talk about this."

Dean stared at the thread in complete silence. He barely noticed Castiel had said something, and when he lifted his gaze to meet his friend's, he looked lost, his expression blank. "What", was the only thing he managed to let out.

Castiel's own expression remained blank as well. "I said, 'I would understand if you do not wish to talk about this,' he replied, always taking things so litteraly.

Dean let out an exasperated, loud noise. "I didn't- I have ears Cas, I heard you, it's just-" He moved his hand abruptly, gesturing at it with his free hand. "What the fuck does this mean!" That couldn't be. It just couldn't.

"... That we are soulmates, and have come at the right time in our lives to meet," Castiel replied, taking Dean too litteraly yet again.

This time the sound Dean let out was definitely a frustrated groan. He glared at Castiel, getting up from his chair. "I know what it means- stop taking this so literally, it's just- how- it can't be like that. It- it could be a mistake! Right?", he asked, trying to get some answers out of Cas.