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Dean stood in front of the mirror and tugged his light yellow shirt into his pants. He looked himself over, frowned and pulled the shirt off again. He rushed back to his closet, carelessly flinging the yellow piece of fabric onto his bed. He rummaged through his selection of clothes, all the while cursing under his breath. It was the third time over the past hour that Dean had changed his clothes, but nothing that he tried on seemed right.
Today was his first official date with Cas. And sure, they’d already hung out a few times over the past two weeks, but he still wanted to make a good impression. Wow, he couldn’t believe it had only been two weeks since he’d followed a stranger into his garden to meet his bees. Talking with Cas was so easy that it felt like they’d known each other for years.
They’d exchanged phone numbers right there, the first day that they met, and had texted periodically since then. Every exchange had made Dean smile, even though Cas texted like a boomer – with way too many emojis and no idea how to use abbreviations. He got a kick out of sending Cas memes and laughing at his confused responses. They’d met up again that Thursday, and Dean had helped Cas extract honey from the combs.
He’d secretly been glad that the other man had already harvested them by himself the day before. If this dating thing worked out, Dean wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep up the lie that the bees didn’t freak him the fuck out. He didn’t have anything against them as a concept, but he wasn’t exactly keen on having them near him, let alone touching them. He’d been stung a few times as a kid, and man, those little stingers hurt. Cas would of course be very upset, if Dean ever brought that up. He’d explained very passionately that the little creatures were severely misunderstood and stinging was actually life-threatening to them and they’d only do so as a last resort when threatened.
So far, Dean had been lucky and had gotten out of directly interacting with the bees again. He’d been over to Cas’ house two more times after the honey making, but they’d only had coffee and talked on those occasions. Since they’d not talked about it at the time, Dean didn’t consider those meet-ups as dates. Then, last Wednesday, the first time that Cas had been over at Dean’s house for a movie, they’d ended up almost cuddling on the couch. At the end of the night, Dean had finally managed to work up the courage to ask Cas out on an official date.
And that was how Dean had ended up in front of his mirror, fretting over what to wear like a teenage girl about to meet her crush for prom. With a sigh, Dean ran a hand through his head and threw on a simple black dress shirt. Fuck it. Cas probably wouldn’t care that much about what he wore anyway. He didn’t strike Dean as a guy to get hung up on fashion. And with the place that Dean had chosen, Cas should be over the moon the whole date anyway.
Other people might go to the movies or to cat cafes for a first date, but Dean had spent hours looking for this specific place. A bee café. He couldn’t believe his luck when he found one just two towns over. Sure, it would be a bit of a drive, but it would be worth it. It would be perfect for Cas.
To honor the occasion, Dean had gotten another surprise. He grinned as he attached one of the two little bee pins that he’d bought to his shirt. Cas would love this.
Half an hour later, Dean’s doorbell rang and he almost slipped in his haste to get to the door. He grinned when he opened it, with a greeting already on his lips. “Heya, Cas!”
When his gaze fell upon his date, his breath caught in his lungs. Cas looked stunning. He wore a light blue polo shirt that hugged his shoulders in all the right places, with a dark blue tie fastened on top. His pants were black and tight, and his shoes were leather. Dean hadn’t even known Cas owned shoes as nice as that. The only thing that didn’t fit Cas’ downright runway worthy appearance was his hair, which was as messy as ever. The sight made Dean’s lip twitch and his heart skip a beat.
Cas smiled and returned the greeting, “Hello, Dean. You look very nice.” His gaze fell upon the pin, and his smile widened. “Oh! I love your pin.”
Dean swallowed and willed himself not to blush. “Uhm, thanks, I was hoping you would. You too. Look nice, I mean.” He could have smacked himself and he felt his ears redden in embarrassment. But Cas only smiled and waited until Dean had finally woken from his stupor and pulled the door closed behind himself. “Ready to go?”
When Cas nodded, Dean led him over to his car and opened the door for him. (See, Sammy, he could be a gentleman.) Then he rushed over to the driver’s side and slipped into the car as well. Like always when he got into Baby, he caressed the steering wheel lovingly. Next to him, Cas gave him an observant look. “You have a very nice car,” he commented.
Dean felt his face break into a wide smile. This was the first time Cas had seen his car up close, and the fact that he appreciated his Baby’s beauty made Dean want to kiss him (even more than before). “Thanks! She’s a beauty, isn’t she? 1967 Chevy Impala. She was my dad’s before he gave her to me on my eighteenth birthday. It took good care of her, didn’t I?”
He had started up the car while talking and began pulling out of the driveway. When he looked over at Cas, the other was frowning, a confused little tilt to his head that Dean couldn’t help but find cute. “How do you tell the gender of your car?”
That made Dean laugh out loud. “It’s not a gender thing, Cas. It’s just that Baby is a damn fine car. So she deserves to be treated like a lady.”
Cas’ mouth formed a little O’ shape and he seemed to be thinking for a moment, then he carefully stretched out a hand and laid it flat on the dashboard, like the world’s dorkiest handshake. “Nice to meet you, Baby. You have a very beautiful shine.”
When he was done, he pulled his hand back and looked at Dean, like he was checking if he’d done that right. Dean could barely pull his gaze away from him enough to keep an eye on traffic, a buzzing starting up in his chest. “Damn, Cas. Keep complimenting my car like that and I’ll have to ask you to marry me,” he blurted out without thought.
A second later, he froze. Shit, Winchester! That was too early. Way too early. Even for a joke. They were only on their first date, after all. He risked a look back at Cas. The other was clearly blushing, but to Dean’s relief, he didn’t seem put off. Cas had his head lowered shyly, but his words were teasing. “Let’s see how this date goes first, shall we?”
Dean let out a breath of relief, glad that he hadn’t fucked this up already.
They changed the topic after that. Multiple times throughout the two-hour drive, Cas asked Dean where they were going, but Dean refused to tell him. “It’s a surprise,” was all that he said, “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”
And like that, time flew by. Like before, they had no problem talking, always seeming to find a new, interesting topic. And even when there were a few minutes of silence between them, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was almost scary how well they got along after only two weeks of knowing each other.
When they finally pulled into the café’s small parking lot, Dean made sure to park so they were facing away from it. Before they went inside, he still had one little surprise for Cas. He turned towards him and cleared his throat. In his hand he fiddled with the little bee pin, still hidden between his fingers.
“Cas, I’m really glad I went with you to meet your bees two weeks ago. I know how much you love bees and uhm, …yeah. Sorry, I’m not really great with words, but…they’re the thing that helped us meet or some shit, and you really like them, and I wanted to make this date special. So uhm, here…”
Wow, really eloquent. Good job, Winchester, he thought sarcastically. Dean awkwardly held out the pin. Fuck, he was so bad at this.
But Cas’ face broke into a gummy smile at the sight of the pin. “Dean…” he carefully took it from him and gingerly pinned it to his tie. He smiled down at it with soft eyes, and when those eyes rose to meet Dean’s, the green-eyed man could feel his heart missing a beat. The expression on Cas’ face was so honest and happy and there was a spark in his eyes, and Dean could feel himself falling a little bit in love.
“Thank you,” Cas whispered, still with that soft look, and Dean had to turn away and clear his throat.
“That’s not all,” Dean opened the car door and gestured for Cas to follow him. He led him over to the small building that was nestled in the middle of other little shops and restaurants on the quiet street.
The sign on top read “Bees and Beans”. It was painted in black and yellow stripes, colors that were repeated throughout the entire exterior. Cas gasped as soon as they were close enough to read the name. “Oh my god, Dean! Is that..?”
“A bee café, yes.” Dean grinned at Cas. He was unable to keep the pride out of his voice. “I thought you might like it.”
“I love it!” There was no holding Cas back any longer. He grabbed onto Dean’s hands, sending little tingles up his arms, and dragged him into the café. They were greeted by a young woman. She directed them towards a corner table (because this was the kind of place that had little tables instead of booths) and took their drink orders.
Cas seemed unable to hold still, shifting in his seat and pointing out every new little detail he spotted. Dean couldn’t help the smile that played on his lips. Cas was so cute when he got excited about something he was passionate about.
He took the time to look around the place himself while they waited for the waiter to bring their drinks. The entire place was painted a light yellow and the furniture was entirely black. The color scheme definitely gave off bee vibes, without being obnoxious or too bright. The tables were honeycomb-shaped – Cas informed him that it was a hexagon – with golden highlights on the legs, like honey dripping down. On the wall there were multiple pictures of bees, flower fields and honey products. And of course there were honey-scented and beeswax candles all around the café. Light buzzing and nature sounds set a calm background ambiance. The back of the café had a large window that pointed out into a tiny garden, where a little beehive could be observed.
The thing that had Cas the most excited, however, was the huge, preserved, natural beehive that decorated the wall next to the counter. He actually dragged Dean over to it before their drinks even came and he began to excitedly explain all the different parts of the hive that lay exposed and what the bees used them for.
Dean was listening attentively. He didn’t care much for the structure of beehives, but Cas was excited and so so happy as he talked on and on, that he could have listened to it for hours.
In the end, they were only persuaded back to their table by the waitress bringing their drinks. Originally, Dean had just ordered a black coffee, not being one for fancy drinks, but Cas convinced him to at least add some honey to it. Cas himself had ordered a Honey Latte Frappuccino with wild flower syrup. Both drinks had come in honeycomb (fine, hexagon) shaped cups, and each had a little honey cracker next to it.
“Do you wanna order some food as well?” The waitress asked with a friendly smile. She was nice. She had let Cas ask as many questions about the café as he’d wanted earlier. “We have a great selection of pastries.”
“Do you have pie?” Dean asked hopefully. When she nodded, he grinned at Cas. “I love pie! What do you think? Wanna eat something?”
Cas nodded and politely asked the waitress for a rundown of the menu. Dean was sold as soon as he heard Honey-Apple-Cinnamon Pie. Cas ordered a Bienenstich, a ‘bee sting cake’, which was apparently a traditional German dessert and also made with honey. (In Dean's opinion, there was way too much honey in this place, but he guessed it at least lived up to the theme.)
Once the waitress had left, Dean finally took a sip of his coffee. It was surprisingly good, with the honey adding a sweet, rich aftertaste. He hummed in satisfaction. Cas offered Dean a sip of his own drink. As he had predicted, the mixture of honey, cream and syrup was way too sweet for him, and Dean pulled a face as he pushed the beverage back over.
“Don’t you like black coffee?” Dean asked when Cas closed his eyes in pleasure after taking a sip of the sugary drink himself. He frowned, trying to think back to what Cas had drunk at his home. Shit, Dean hadn’t even thought to offer milk or sugar when Cas had been over to his place.
“Oh, yes, I do,” Cas replied, unknowingly putting a stop to Dean's internal panic. “In fact, I mostly drink it black at home. Sometimes I add a little honey. But I like this kind of coffee too. Mostly when I’m out, though.”
Dean nodded in understanding and made a mental note to put a jar of honey on the table next time they had coffee at his place. After that, their conversation drifted into favorite foods. Dean was ecstatic to learn that Cas also loved burgers.
They stayed for almost four hours at the café. By the time they left, it was beginning to get dark outside. The food had been delicious, and they had talked with barely a pause. Dean was smiling as they got back into the car. For a moment, they just sat there and looked at each other. Cas’ expression was mirroring Dean’s.
“This was a really nice date. I had an amazing time. Thank you so much for this, Dean.”
Dean could feel a blush rising in his cheeks. He glanced away as he mumbled, “Wasn’t a big deal. Just glad you liked it.”
“Dean.” Cas waited until he was looking back at him. “I loved it. And no one has ever done something like this for me, put so much effort into creating the perfect date for me.”
The look he was giving Dean was filled with affection and something else that Dean felt was too early to name. His eyes drifted down to Cas’ lips. They looked plush and pink and perfectly kissable. He instinctively licked his own lips.
They were both silent, and Dean noticed that they had both drifted closer, until they were only a hand apart. “I know we still have a long drive ahead of us before the date is really over, but I kinda wanna kiss you right now,” Dean whispered. Somehow, the air between them seemed too thick for loud words.
In answer, Cas leaned forward and pressed his lips against Dean’s. He tasted like honey.
It wasn’t like in a story. There were no fireworks exploding in Dean’s stomach. Instead, it felt like something was rising up in his chest. Like a flower blooming. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. Cas’ lips were firm and just a little bit chapped against his own. They were moving slowly. Gentle, as opposed to most of the kisses that Dean had had in his life, that had been passionate, but in the end just a step on the way to sex.
This felt different. Special.
Dean lifted one hand to the back of Cas’ head and pulled him deeper into the kiss. Even though it was deep, it stayed gentle, only the hint of tongue playing against lips.
When they pulled back, they were both smiling. Cas’ eyes seemed to glow in the leftover light. “That was nice,” he whispered. Dean could only nod, his head still reeling.
They didn’t exchange another word for the next half hour as they drove. But their hands were intertwined, lying on the seat between them.