Chapter Text
Dean woke up with hazy vision and a pounding headache. The first thing he noticed was the IV strapped to his arm and the overly loud monitor beeping steadily beside him.
He rubbed at his eyes ignoring the burn as he tried to remember how he ended up in this hospital room.
“He’s awake, Doctor.”
The voice came from the other side of the room where two people were standing. One had a white coat and a stethoscope hanging from their neck and the other was in blue scrubs.
The doctor turned to look at Dean, to see that he had finally woken up from his unconscious state. Blue eyes met green and Dean immediately felt relief.
“Dean you’re awake,” Castiel sighed, the worried expression on his face beginning to fade.
Dean grunted and let his head fall back on the pillow. “Yeah, and I feel like shit.”
Cas stepped up to the bed, one brow cocked upwards. “Well just be glad you don’t have alcohol poisoning. Dean, what were you thinking?”
His friend looked genuinely concerned, and it caused Dean to feel the twist of guilt in his stomach. He’d been friends with Castiel for a little over a year now, partially working with him as an EMT. He was probably the best friend Dean’s ever had besides Sam, and he knew that putting himself in danger would cause Cas distress—something that Dean never wanted to do.
Not to mention he also happened to have a massive crush on him, something he’d been hiding since the day he met him. He’d hoped maybe they could be more than friends, but since Cas never made a move and Dean was still too scared to come on to guys—despite being openly bisexual—they ended up just forming a strong friendship.
“I know, I know, man. I just—fuck. How long have I been out?”
“They found you outside of Burr Oak Bar at 4:00 am and it’s now 6:00 pm on Tuesday, so a little over 12 hours.” Castiel replied, peering down at his watch. “What happened Dean?”
“What do you mean?” Dean asked seriously.
“I mean, why did you feel the need to drink your weight in alcohol on a Monday night?”
“I was just having some fun, Cas.”
Castiel scowled at him and Dean let out a harsh laugh.
“I don’t know what to tell you man, I went to go enjoy some me-time and I got a little carried away, I don’t really see why it’s such a big—“
“Carried away?” Castiel was practically shouting at this point. “Dean, your BAC was 0.32 percent! Something had to have gone seriously wrong for you to want to drink that much.”
The nurse who had been standing there this entire time shuffled awkwardly, looking between a paper in her hand and an angry Castiel.
Dean let out a small cough. “Would you give us a minute?”
After the nurse left in hurried relief, Dean sighed and looked at Cas.
“Okay, fine. If you really want to know, my dad and I got into a fight. After it was over I needed to cool off, so I went to the bar. I guess I just got lost in my anger and frustration, I didn’t realize I was drinking too much.”
This time it was Castiel’s turn to look guilty. He gazed down at the floor and then back at Dean with sympathetic eyes. “I’m sorry, Dean.”
Dean turned his head away. “It’s whatever.”
Castiel didn’t take his eyes off Dean but he didn’t attempt to say anything else.
“Alright so can I go home now?”
Cas rubbed his face with his palm and moved away from the bed. “Well you seem fine. All of your vitals are good, but that was still a lot of alcohol to consume in such a short amount of time. Not to mention you hit your head pretty hard when you passed out.” Cas pulled up his information on a screen. “I’m not sure if I could approve you going home.”
Dean let up his hands in frustration, “Come on! Dude, you know how much I hate sleeping in hospitals. I mean look at me, I’m fine. You’re not the only medical professional here, I know when I’m good and when I’m not.”
“You didn’t know last night apparently.” Castiel didn’t look away from the screen but Dean stared daggers at him.
“Cas, please. I’m asking as a friend. I really need to go home. I have work tomorrow and—“
“No you don’t, I talked with Singer and we’ve cleared you for the next three days.”
Dean blinked dumbly at Cas. “Are you serious? You’re messing with my work now?”
“Dean, I’m making a decision about your safety and the safety of the people you work with. I would act no differently for any other patient.” Castiel was now looking straight at Dean, face stern and assertive.
“Okay fine I won’t go to work, but will you just let me go home and rest in my own bed, please?” Dean looked up at Cas with puppy dog eyes, trying desperately to mimic the ones his little brother could do so perfectly.
“You’re making it very difficult for me to do my job, Dean.”
“Please.”
Castiel sighed for what was probably the hundredth time since Dean had woken up. “Alright, this is what I’ll allow. You can go home, but only if someone is there with you to monitor you every three hours through the night.”
Dean crossed his arms. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t have anyone to do that for me. Sam is away at Stanford and I’m sure as hell not calling my Dad.”
Castiel rubbed his chin thoughtfully for several moments.
“Alright then, you can come home with me.”
“What?”
“My shift finishes in three hours, you’ll come home with me after I get off. That way you don’t have to stay in the hospital, but someone can make sure you don’t have a concussion or any other issues throughout the night.”
Dean felt a strong sense of nervousness at the thought of just him and Cas being at his house. Sure, he had been a couple of times, but it was during the day and he never stayed for too long, opting to mostly spend time at Dean’s apartment or out in town. He certainly never slept over before, most likely to avoid this very situation.
The idea of sleeping near Cas had butterflies starting to form in his stomach. If he did have a concussion, who knew what kind of things he could say to Cas, especially if he was gonna come wake him up every three hours during the night.
“Uhm..”
“Or you could stay here, your choice.” Castiel said plainly.
Well, that was definitely not happening.
“I—uh. I mean—that sounds…fine. I guess.” Dean rubbed at the back of his head and the slightest bit of blush started to creep up his neck.
“It’s settled then.”