dean tries not to laugh as castiel stands before him, coated in a thick layer of apple-scented soap suds, with an anxious furrow wrinkling his brows.

“cas, what happened?” dean asks, managing a straight face with some difficulty.

“i seem to have lost astro somewhere in the house,” castiel replies, frowning and tiptoeing to glance over dean’s shoulder. “he wouldn’t allow me to give him his bath.”

dean smiles, stepping closer and wiping a cluster of bubbles away from castiel’s cheek.

“here, let me help you find him,” dean offers, picking up the abandoned towel from the sink and placing it over castiel’s head.

“i messed up again, didn’t i?” castiel mumbles from under the linen, dean gently fluffing away the suds from his hair.

“nah, shit happens,” dean reassures, lowering the towel around castiel’s shoulders. “come on, let’s go check the garage. maybe the little bastard’s hiding under the car again.”

dean takes castiel’s hand and guides him away from the battlegrounds of the downstairs bathroom, ignoring the soapy mess that he’ll have to clean up later.