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“Okay, gentlemen! Everyone have a seat!” There were murmurs and a rustling of chairs as the twelve men in the room moved to sit. “If you haven't met me yet, I'm Kathy. I'll be coordinating all the boring stuff. First, I want to thank you all so much for agreeing to do this. I think it's going to make a lot of money for the animal shelter, and I hope it will be a lot of fun. Now, I'd like to introduce you to Dean Winchester. He'll be the one taking the photos.” Dean rose from his seat at the side of the room and stood in front of the men. He didn't usually donate his time, people take advantage too quickly, but this was a good cause, and hey, sexy firefighters were a bonus.“Hi, guys, I'm Dean. Like Kathy said, I'll be doing all the photography for the calendar. If y'all would just hang out for a while, I'd like to sit down with each of you individually so I can get a little glimpse into your personalities. That'll help me match you up with a month and give me some ideas for your shoot.” He glanced down at the list of names in his hand. “John Sullivan?” A hand raises in the back. “Meet me at that table over there, okay? The rest of you relax and have a coffee or whatever. Once we’ve talked, you're free to go, and I'll call you to schedule your shoot.” He headed over to the table, where a buff, shortish blonde man was sitting and waiting for him. Dean eyed him. Not bad, but not my type. He sat down and started his interview.Almost an hour and five firefighters later, Dean looked at the paper, then tilted his chair back and rubbed his eyes. “Cas Novak?” He heard a chair screech. Please don't let this one be an idiot. Or conceited. The last one had been so full of himself, Dean wondered how he managed to fit his head through the door.“You know, if you fall because you're sitting back on two legs like that, I'm going not going to help.” The deep, gravelly, deadpan voice penetrated his musings, and he pulled his hands away from his eyes. “What I will do is laugh my ass off. Just want you to know.” Dean looked up into the most arresting pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen. Wow. He leaned forward, letting the chair fall back onto all four legs. “Damn,” Cas said. “I needed a good laugh. This is boring as hell.” His face lit up in a toothy smile that crinkled the laugh lines around his eyes. Dean just stared for a moment, willing himself to speak. He shook himself a little as Cas sat down.“I'm sorry. Want me to do a little dance for you or something?” He winked and gave Cas a little half smile.“Now that would make things more interesting.” Dean chuckled, and his stomach did a little flip flop at Cas’ words.“Okay, Cas, let's get you out of here. Tell me about your hobbies.” Dean proceeded with the interview, trying to be professional in the face of those cerulean eyes gazing intensely at him. Banter between them came easily, and Dean was a little sad when he'd asked the last of his questions. “That's about it. I'll give you a call sometime this week to set up your shoot.”“I look forward to it.” He flashed that smile again, and Dean's insides turned to goo. He stood when Cas did and offered his hand. Cas took it with a short shake, then held it for a moment too long before letting go and striding out of the room. Dean watched him go, not moving until Cas was out the door, then cleared his throat.“Okay, Dennis Gibson?”****Just call him, Dean. You have to schedule the shoot. Dean picked up the phone, hand shaking a little and stomach full of butterflies.“Hello?”“Hi, Cas? This is Dean Winchester.”“Hello, Dean. How are you?”Going crazy because I can't stop thinking about you, Cas. “I've been good. How's your week look?” They made a plan for Cas to come to Dean's home. He had a great retro kitchen, and it would be perfect for the shoot he had planned. Getting Cas into his house was just a side benefit.“I'll see you on Saturday at one, Dean.”“Can't wait.”****Saturday morning arrived, and Dean found himself puttering around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on things that he'd already readjusted ten times, trying to tamp down his nervousness. At noon he took a shower and dressed. At 12:30, he looked in the mirror, stripped, and changed into something else. At 12:45 he was sitting on the couch, drumming his fingers on his knee. If he'd looked out the window, he'd have seen an unfamiliar vehicle parked in front of his house with Cas behind the wheel, checking and rechecking himself in the mirror. At 12:50 there was a knock. Dean took a deep breath, then got up and moved to the foyer. He opened the door and took in the sight of the man standing in front of him. Tousled, sexy, dark hair, t-shirt and jeans hugging his body just right. He mentally sighed. “Hello, Dean. I apologize. I'm a little early.” Cas smiled at him sheepishly.“No problem.” Dean smiled back and thought he felt a little zing of electricity between them.“I wasn't sure what gear you'd want, so I left it in the truck.”“Pants, suspenders, and jacket. We'll skip the helmet.” Cas ran to his truck to get the requested gear while Dean watched him from the doorway, biting his lip when Cas bent to grab something that was out of his reach. After he returned, they sat in the living room to talk about the shoot. “You're November, so we're going to do a Thanksgiving thing. So, uh, I'm thinking shirt off with the jacket open. I've got everything set up like you're cooking a Thanksgiving meal. We'll do a bunch of different shots. So go ahead and get dressed. Uh, I can meet you in the kitchen.”“That's okay, Dean. The pants just go on over my jeans.” He pulled them on, leaving the suspenders hanging as he crossed his arms at the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Dean sucked in a little breath at the sight of the v-line disappearing into the waistband of his pants. He shifted to conceal his half hard erection. Grandma, smelly garbage, math tests. Get yourself together, Winchester! Cas pulled the suspenders up, then turned to grab the jacket. Dean watched the movement of the muscles in his back with appreciation. “Okay, let's do this.” They headed to the kitchen to a full Thanksgiving spread laid out on the stove and counters. “Wow, this smells amazing. Did you make all this?” Dean gave a shy smile. “Yeah, I like to cook, and it's my favorite holiday. Uh, maybe when we're done, you can help me eat some of it? If you don't, I'll be eating turkey until it's actually Thanksgiving.” Cas flashed that breath stealing smile. “I'd love that.” They stood for a minute, smiling at one another, then got to work.****There was a lot of laughter over the silly poses Dean had Cas try. Occasionally Dean would turn the camera around and show him one. Cas with eyes wide and dipping his finger into the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie, Cas with a giant wooden spoon pretending to eat a big scoop of mashed potatoes, Cas with a fire extinguisher pointed at the turkey, Cas with fork and knife ready to carve the turkey wearing a sultry expression. That one especially cracked them up.“You look like you want to have sex with it!”“Nah, I'm not so into chicks.” He chuckled, but his eyes were serious. “Wait, what?”“You heard me.” Cas stepped closer to Dean. Dean took a step forward, looking into the deep pools of Cas’ eyes. Cas leaned forward, placing a tentative kiss on Dean's lips. Dean's hand moved up and landed on Cas’ waist as he responded to the kiss. Cas reached up and cupped Dean's cheek, moaning a little as Dean leaned into his hand. Dean parted his lips a little, and Cas took the invitation, softly sweeping his tongue into Dean's mouth. They gently explored each other's mouths until they had to break for air. They stood, arms wrapped around one another, staring into one another's eyes for a long moment. Cas rubbed small circles on Dean's cheek with his thumb. “You know, Dean, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, too. If we work together, we can probably finish off all this food by September. That'll give us plenty of time to not be sick of it before we start over again on actual Thanksgiving.” The mischievous smile on his face melted Dean's heart.“I think that sounds like a fabulous plan, Cas. What do you say we start with the pie?”
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“Okay, gentlemen! Everyone have a seat!” Kathy called for everyone to settle down. As she went through her spiel Cas sat there wondering how he'd let her talk him into doing this. He wasn't nearly as beefy as the other guys in the room. He saw a man he hadn't noticed before sitting off to the side. Well, well, this is the photographer? Hot. He got up and joined Kathy at the front of the room, then addressed the men. Cas watched him as he talked about what they were doing there. Dean Winchester. I wonder if he's into guys? He had short hair, not quite blonde, but not quite brown either. What did they call that? Dirty blonde? He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Simple clothes, but he wore them very well. Cas admired the way the shirt hugged him in all the right places. He called Johnny Sullivan first. Cas was kind of glad it wasn't him for three reasons. One, he was feeling insecure enough about this stupid calendar without Annie Liebovitz over there looking all sexy and talking to him with that voice like honeyed whiskey, two, he had some time to ogle the handsome photographer, and three, he wouldn't have to sit there and talk to Johnny Sullivan. An hour later, and the novelty had worn off. He was almost to the point of dozing off when he heard, “Cas Novak?” He got out of his chair and walked over to the table. Dean was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. Okay, Cas. You can do this. Be funny.“You know, if you fall because you're sitting back on two legs like that, I'm going not going to help. What I will do is laugh my ass off. Just want you to know.” Dean looked up at him. His eyes were such a vivid green, it almost took Cas’ breath away. He let his chair fall back onto all four legs. “Damn, I needed a good laugh. This is boring as hell.” Cas threw Dean his best smile, and Dean just stared at him with those eyes. He was going to have a hard time concentrating with those focused on him like that. He took a seat, then Dean surprised him.“I'm sorry. Want me to do a little dance for you or something?” Then he winked. He winked. Cas was half hard at a wink and a smile. This guy was going to kill him. Play it cool, Cas.“Now that would make things more interesting.” Dean laughed a little, and the sound made Cas’ heart beat a little faster. Dean started the interview, and it wasn't long before Cas felt more at ease. Dean was really easy to talk to, and Cas was disappointed when Dean told him he was finished and that he would call him. They said their goodbyes, and Cas got up. Dean followed suit and held out his hand to shake. His grip was firm. Oh, God, Cas, you're holding his hand too long. You're going to weird him out! Cas let go and headed for the door, willing himself to walk purposefully and not look back. When he got out of the room, he stopped and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. He really hoped Dean would call him soon.****Cas was sitting in his apartment when the phone rang. Unknown caller.“Hello?”“Hi, Cas? This is Dean Winchester.”Oh my god. Cas’ heart skipped a beat. “Hello, Dean. How are you?”“I've been good. How's your week look?”It just became wide open. “I'm pretty free. What were you thinking?” They made a plan, and Cas hung up the phone. Saturday sure seemed like a long way away.****Cas was up early on Saturday morning. He had to try to kill time until at least 12:30. He let the dog out, then made some eggs and coffee and messed around on Facebook while he ate. Maybe running would help calm his nerves. “Come on, Fergus, let's go for a run.” He threw on his running gear and clipped on the dog's leash. They ran a five mile loop, and while it did help take his mind off his nerves while he was running it, the butterflies came back as soon as they were home. At least it had killed some time. He showered, then figured out what he was going to wear. He knew Dean would want him to wear his gear for the photos, but what was he going to wear for Dean? He dug through the dryer, finally pulling out his favorite jeans. They really made his ass look great. Just a simple, fitted v-neck t-shirt with it. He didn't want to overdo it. Once he was dressed, he dicked around on Facebook some more, then had a sandwich. Finally, it was 12:30, and he decided to head to Dean's. He was there by 12:45. Fifteen minutes to kill. He checked his hair and teeth in the rearview mirror. He fiddled with the radio. He checked himself in the mirror again, then checked Facebook. 12:50. Fuck it. I'll be early. He checked his hair one last time and got out of the car. He walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. A moment later Dean answered, and Cas had to remind himself to breathe. He looked gorgeous standing there in jeans and a white button up shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up, showing off his strong forearms.“Hello, Dean. I apologize. I'm a little early.” He smiled shyly. Dean assured him it was fine and smiled back. Cas could swear they had a connection. “I wasn't sure what gear you'd want, so I left it in the truck.”“Pants, suspenders, and jacket. We'll skip the helmet.” Cas ran back to get the requested gear. He could feel Dean's eyes on him. There was definitely something there. He headed back and followed Dean into the living room. They discussed the shoot, then Cas stood to put his gear on. Dean seemed nervous and offered to leave the room, but Cas assured him that he wouldn't have to completely undress, so he stayed. Did he just suck in a breath when I pulled my shirt off? Cas really hoped what he was feeling wasn't just in his imagination as he turned to grab his jacket and pull it on. They headed into the kitchen, and Cas was greeted with an entire Thanksgiving meal. Wow, he put a lot of work into this. When Dean told him he made it all, Cas practically swooned. And he can cook? Don't mess this one up, Cas. Dean asked Cas if he'd like to stay after the shoot to eat some of the bounty, and Cas could barely contain his excitement. When he said he'd love to, Dean's smile sent butterflies shooting through his stomach. ****The shoot was really fun. They laughed a lot. Cas’ favorite shot was the one where he was pointing the fire extinguisher at the turkey. It was just so dumb, it was hilarious. When Dean showed him the one of him seductively preparing to carve the turkey, they erupted in a fit of giggles.“You look like you want to have sex with it!”That is definitely not who I want to have sex with. “Nah, I'm not so into chicks.” Did I really just say that? He chuckled to hide his embarrassment. “Wait, what?”Now or never, Cassie boy. “You heard me.” Cas stepped closer to Dean. He didn't move away. In fact, he moved closer too. Cas took the plunge and leaned in to give Dean a small kiss. When Dean responded, kissing him back and putting his hands on his waist, Cas’ heart sang. He reached up and cupped Dean's face, pleased when Dean leaned into his hand. Cas explored Dean's mouth with his tongue. The kiss was everything he'd imagined it would be. It was tender and passionate, and he didn't want it to end. When it did, they just stood there staring into one another's eyes. He felt like he could stay like that forever. He needed to let Dean know that he wanted something to come of this. He didn't want to just hook up. “You know, Dean, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, too. If we work together, we can probably finish off all this food by September. That'll give us plenty of time to not be sick of it before we start over again on actual Thanksgiving.” He smiled, and Dean smiled back. “I think that sounds like a fabulous plan, Cas. What do you say we start with the pie?”Cas couldn't wait for Thanksgiving.