88. Chapter 88

They did, indeed, sell pies. Castiel purchased one of their handheld apple pies and gave it to Dean to snack on while they continued to walk around. The store was truly amazing, Castiel had to admit. But what he liked the most was seeing the wonder on Dean’s face every time they walked past a new display. Even after all this time, with all the things he had been exposed to, Dean Winchester’s soul was so pure.

“Can we buy some chocolates for Sammy too?” Dean asked, eyes lingering on an elaborately crafted chocolate statue that kept exploding glittery sprinkles all over the place.

“Of course. Do you know what Sam likes?” Castiel asked. He cast his mind back to his time with both brothers but found that he couldn’t recall Sam eating many sweets. Occasionally he would indulge in some ice cream or a chocolate bar, but Sam had definitely favored health foods. Castiel was pretty sure that there was nothing that would fit the criteria of healthy in this candy shop.

Dean screwed his face up and took another bite of his pie, inadvertently smearing some of the soft filling across his chin. Castiel had to bite back a smile. He waited patiently for Dean to gather his thoughts together, knowing how important Sam’s gift was to Dean. That importance, plus the sheer volume of sweets available here, was definitely making the choice a tough one.

“Chocolate,” Dean said eventually. “No nuts. Sammy’s not big on nuts. But he likes coconut too, and orange.” His eyes roved the displays. “Maybe something that’s individually wrapped. That way he can have a little bit at a time instead of unwrapping a whole bunch at once.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Castiel praised him. “Let’s keep walking until we find something. But first…” He used a bit of grace to produce a damp towel and wiped Dean’s face. Dean squirmed and whined a bit, no doubt a little embarrassed about having that done in public, but eventually subsided with a pout until he was clean to Castiel’s standard.

“Done yet?” he asked grumpily, sticking his fingers in his mouth and sucking the remains of the pie off.

“Almost,” Castiel said, waiting until Dean was all finished before he cleaned Dean’s hands too.

“Daddy,” Dean complained, wiggling impatiently.

“All done. Go ahead,” Castiel told him, amused. He dropped the now-sticky towel in the garbage and followed after Dean.

In the end, they picked out chocolates for Sam and Balthazar both, as well as Jody, Bobby, Anael, and Charlie. Dean was so excited over all of the magical selection that there was no way Castiel could have stopped him, not that Castiel actually wanted to. Dean asked for so little, even after all this time, that it was impossible to deny him anything that he wanted.

Maybe someday, Dean would feel comfortable enough to ask for things for himself and not just for other people.

“Where’s Uncle Gabriel?” Dean asked once they had paid for everything.

After glancing around and failing to see Gabriel – not surprising, considering the crowd – Castiel reached out with his grace. The shop was full of his brothers and sisters, but it still wasn’t hard to find Gabriel’s unique grace: it was more familiar to Castiel than anything else. Gabriel was very preoccupied with a new display on cotton candy, but he promised to go to the liquor store while Dean and Castiel went to the pet store.

Castiel relayed this to Dean, adding, “He says he’ll catch up with us after that. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Dean said, which left Castiel a little relieved. It had been months since Dean had entered a liquor store, and he was pretty sure that alcohol didn’t have the same appeal to Dean now that it had then – but that didn’t mean Castiel wanted to tempt Dean unnecessarily.

“Good. Then we’ll go to the pet store and find something special for Sparks.” Castiel took Dean’s hand, noticing that Dean was using his free hand to cover a yawn. He thought that Dean might need an earlier nap than usual, considering that this trip so far had been a lot more excitement than they usually had in a day.

They walked back up the street to the pet shop and entered together. It was also a large store, though not nearly as big as the candy shop. There were different sections for every imaginable sort of pet. Castiel allowed Dean to drag him towards the kitty section, which covered at least a dozen desperate aisles. Dean looked a little overwhelmed as he took in all of the merchandise.

“What am I supposed to get for Sparks?” he asked Castiel, clinging to Castiel’s hand. “What if I choose the wrong thing and Sparks doesn’t like it?”

“Sparks will love anything you give her, Dean. I don’t think you could pick the wrong thing if you tried,” Castiel said fondly. He loved how much effort Dean was putting into this whole present thing.

Dean didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know about that.”

“Well, why don’t we walk up and down the aisles and look at everything? You might see just the right thing,” Castiel said, glancing at the first aisle. He admittedly didn’t know much about what cats would like, and unfortunately this seemed like one area where Gabriel wasn’t going to be of any help either. Neither of them had ever owned a cat before Sparks.

“I did want to get her a collar, but okay,” Dean said. “Maybe I could get her a toy too, or a kitty tree?” He was clearly warming up to the idea of finding her something special.

The first couple of aisles were more about grooming, so Dean and Castiel skipped that one – there was no need for Sparks to ever be given a bath when both Castiel and Gabriel would snap their fingers and have Sparks be perfectly clean. And someday, when Dean’s grace had fully matured, Dean would be able to do the same thing, luckily for Sparks.

They also bypassed the aisles that sold kitty litter and other assorted items, cat food, and beds. Finally, they came to the toy aisle. Dean started to walk down, his head swivelling in every direction. Castiel followed, taking in the numerous, brightly colored cat toys with some bemusement. He had no idea there were so many options. No wonder Dean was concerned about finding the right thing!

Dean picked out a couple of different toys, including some brightly colored mice that could be wound up for Sparks to chase and a long, feathery boa that was attached to a stick that he could drag around to play with her. While Dean was doing that, Castiel started to look at the “kitty trees” or “kitty condos”. Some of them were so large that he knew they wouldn’t fit in the nest without some grace on Castiel’s or Gabriel’s part.

But he had to admit that Sparks would love all of them. She was like a little monkey sometimes, forever climbing whatever surface she could get her paws on. Many of the condos came with scratching pads, which would be very helpful in dealing with kitten claws: while Castiel or Gabriel could heal any scratches that Dean got, it still meant Dean had to deal with it happening at all.

“I like that,” Dean said, appearing by Castiel’s side. He clutched his finds to his chest and looked admiringly at the condo. It was taller than both of them, with three different beds at the top, four different platforms, a little house, several scratching posts, and a hammock at the bottom.

Castiel glanced at the card attached. “It seems that it comes in different colors. You can pick red, blue, purple, or green.” The store model was in green.

“What changes? The fur?” Dean asked, shuffling his armful of items to reach out and touch it.

“I think so. The scratching posts are brown,” Castiel said. “We can get this one if you want.” They would have to enlarge the living room a bit to make room for everything – though he was certain that, given the option, Dean would happily give up his bouncer to make room for the kitty condo.

Dean looked consideringly at the other trees and condos. “Sure. Can we get it in blue?”

“Of course.” Castiel made a note of the item number and then added, “Was there anything else you wanted to get?”

“A collar!” Dean exclaimed. “Sparks doesn’t have one.”

“Are you sure she needs one? It’s not like she could run away or get lost,” Castiel said. The barrier Gabriel had enacted around the nest would ensure that Sparks never got more than a hundred feet from the nest in any direction. And if she did somehow escape, it wouldn’t be difficult to find her.

But Dean frowned at him. “Of course she needs one, Daddy!” he said in a scandalized tone, as though Castiel had suggested that they ban pie from the nest. Castiel had to smile.

“You’re right. What was I thinking?” he agreed. “I think the collars are in the next aisle.” He watched Dean scurry towards the next aisle, his smile fading. Sometimes it was too easy to forget that it was the little, day-to-day things that made the most difference for the Winchesters. Not only had Dean never had a pet, even if he and Sam had had one when they were little, Castiel doubted that John Winchester would’ve bothered spending the money on a collar.

A collar was such a small thing, but it meant a lot. It meant that Sparks, and by extension Dean, both had a home to belong to.

So Castiel allowed Dean all the time in the world to carefully pick out just the right collar. Dean hummed and hawed over the many choices – there were at least two hundred options by Castiel’s count – but finally selecting a bright blue collar, patterned with little green fish, that perfectly matched the color of Sparks’ eyes. The proud smile on Dean’s face when held it up warmed Castiel’s heart.

“I like this one. It’s just what I imagined,” Dean said. “I hope Sparks likes wearing a collar.”

“She’ll get used to it,” Castiel said. “Come here.” He gently led Dean to the end of the aisle.

“Oh, cool. They have tags,” Dean said, but he made no move to take one.

Finally, Castiel prompted, “Don’t you think Sparks should have a tag for her collar?”

Dean blinked for a moment. “Well… yeah, but… we don’t have an address or anything. And you said there’s no chance she could get lost…”

“That doesn’t mean she can’t have a tag. At the very least, you could put her name on the front and your name on the back. That way, everyone will know she belongs to you.” Castiel glanced at the wall assessingly before picking up a small silver tag shaped like a fish. He handed it to Dean, who stared at the tag with too-bright eyes.

“Thanks,” Dean whispered after a long pause. He wrapped his trembling fingers tightly around the tag and didn’t say anything else. Castiel wasn’t sure what was upsetting him. The realization that he and Sparks did have a home? The knowledge that they could afford to spend money on something that proved that? The proof that Sparks belonged to him and always would? All of the above?

Regardless, this was one of those times where he felt it best not to pry. He just wrapped an arm around Dean’s shoulders, grabbed a couple packages of some new cat treats, and led Dean up to the cash registers. Dean perked up a bit when he got to pick out the font for the writing on the tag. He chose very carefully and then smushed his face up against the glass to watch the laser do its work.

Castiel paid and arranged to pick up the cat condo at a later date. When the tag was ready, and attached to the collar, he collected Dean and they left the store together just in time to see that it was beginning to snow. Dean stared at the sky with eyes rounded in wonder, clutching the bag with Sparks’ collar and tag inside to his chest. It was an adorable sight, if a little bittersweet.

Dean deserved so much more than this, and it was a shame he was only getting anything now. It only affirmed Castiel’s resolve to do everything he possibly could for Dean for as long as Dean would allow him to – hopefully forever. He rested a hand on Dean’s shoulder, right over where the handprint would be.

“How about lunch?” Castiel suggested, and Dean tore his eyes away from the sky and nodded.