[ The way Castiel looks -- no, practically basks if the way he seems to carefully study the hunter from head to toe is of any indication, like he hasn't seen him in a long time. He hasn't, truth told... and when Dean stretches out a hand and stops short, the angel's eyes drop to the hand... head leaning to one side.
That one gesture is something Castiel can actually read. ]
...I am.
[ They've been through quite a lot, more than just the apocalypse and the events that followed, but the better part of a year in this... undefined, more-than-just-friends relationship they've been in, it's changed things.
It took watching couples interact for a few months and not having Dean to distract him to open his eyes a little. Castiel pauses, pleased as he hesitates, and then lifts his own hand to offer a foreign gesture of his own -- fingertips brushing up the palm of Dean's hand and attempting to slot between Dean's own and interlace their fingers. ]
I apologize for not returning sooner. Our mission had a few... complications.
/turns that frown upside down
That one gesture is something Castiel can actually read. ]
...I am.
[ They've been through quite a lot, more than just the apocalypse and the events that followed, but the better part of a year in this... undefined, more-than-just-friends relationship they've been in, it's changed things.
It took watching couples interact for a few months and not having Dean to distract him to open his eyes a little. Castiel pauses, pleased as he hesitates, and then lifts his own hand to offer a foreign gesture of his own -- fingertips brushing up the palm of Dean's hand and attempting to slot between Dean's own and interlace their fingers. ]
I apologize for not returning sooner. Our mission had a few... complications.
I have been eager to return for some time now.