| Home ~ Holy Multiverse, Batman |
|
That's How You Know He's Your Love
|
|
|---|---|
Rating: PG-13
| |
Chapter 1Once upon a time... The fall was long, dark and fast and Castiel really didn't have the time to fully realize what had happened until he found himself in a place which was small, dark, smelly and mostly wet as he opened his eyes. He took a shaky breath, feeling somehow changed; he didn't know how it happened, why it happened or what had gone wrong, but he knew that this was definitely not Heaven. It didn't feel like it at all. He took another shaky breath and forced himself to think. Surely Sam was going to come for him, but meanwhile he should try to figure out where he was and what to do. He turned on his back, realizing that his nice, silk shirt, along with the corduroy trousers and jacket, were getting soiled by... whatever dirt was in this hole; he sighed, searching for the only, dim source of light. He found that it was above his head, coming from four holes in the shape of lines. He stood up and pushed the metal in between the holes, amazed to find that it was actually moving; soon enough, he had shifted a heavy, circular cover and realized that he could move out of the hole he was in, since the opening was wide. He looked up and saw a huge and confusing amount of light; he put his hands on the border of the circle and pushed himself up. He found himself in a road which was like nothing he had seen before; it was covered in some strange, dark material which felt nothing like earth, all the buildings were too tall and their lights were too strong and you couldn't see stars, and everyone else around was looking at him oddly, even if they were the ones who wore odd clothing, at least for his standards. His ears were attacked with sounds he didn't recognize and he just stood in the street, not realizing what he should do, until he heard a screeching sound and some kind of honking and noticed that some huge, ugly machine was running in his direction and was probably going to kill him or something like that, and so he ran out of its way after letting out a scream of surprise. Just so that he ran in the path of another metal trap, just smaller, and of another, and of another, and then he heard a lot of people screaming things like watch where you're going, you asshole or what the fuck do you think you're doing and idiot and public menace and they were all directed at him and he just couldn't realize why; but he figured he'd be safe if he reached the side of the street where everyone else was and indeed, when he did no one was trying to run him over again. He let out a small breath of relief, wishing that Sam was here and wondering where did he end up; it didn't last, since the crowd basically swallowed him and no one answered his questions (please, could you tell me the way to Heaven? Please, I don't know... I'm not... I don't... where am I?) and screaming for Sam didn't help either. He found himself pushed down some stairs and inside a nightmarish mean of transport which didn't look at all like a carriage and which traveled underground and which was positively make him going to faint before the crowd swallowed him again and he found some stairs that he hoped would at least get him out in the open. They did, but it was in a road not at all similar to that first one; actually, it was completely empty and the houses looked pretty grim and they weren't as high or shiny as the ones he had seen before. He called for Sam again, getting no answer except a scream out of one window which said that he should cut that crap because someone's trying to sleep in here, goddammit, and Castiel promptly did since he figured that he was not going to find help that way. He gave another look at himself; his shirt wasn't pristine anymore but definitely soiled, the hems of his trousers were damp with water and his jacket wasn't protecting him from the chill. Not to mention that whatever had dirtied it before didn't smell good. Not at all. And no one was around. After a second, he heard a sound of thunder and another second later it started to rain; cold water hit his face and hair and shoulders and he felt so helpless he could cry; what he was going to do, like this, stranded, in a place whose name he didn't even know? He sighed, wrapping the jacket tighter around his shoulders, and started to walk. Maybe if he did he could find a familiar place, could he? He certainly hoped so. And at the same time, he had never felt so alone. "There's no way you're taking Hank with you!" "Goddammit, it was mine and I will damn well bring it with me!" "Not over my fucking dead body!" Dean Winchester sighed and for the hundredth time today wondered why the fuck did he ever switch to this. When he had to use his blood in order to repay his college debt, when picking law, he had imagined he'd do it with something a little more worthwhile than this. He wanted to help people, maybe work in the civil field, maybe mass actions, maybe even be one of those people who did civil in the mornings and worked for charities in the evenings, not to be a fucking divorce attorney. Because, sorry to say, being a divorce attorney? It sucked. It sucked a lot, and while he knew perfectly why he had switched to that (it helped paying his debt a lot faster and it granted more money, and safer money, and quicker money) he still felt like this was just a goddamn waste of time. Especially when people like his current client, Tamara Walker, had been fighting for two hours with her soon-to-be-ex-husband Isaac about this Hank, which sadly wasn't the family dog. That'd have had at least a lick of sense. He was just waiting for the other divorce attorney, Gordon Walker, with whom he had sort of been in class with back in pre-law at NYU and even was Isaac's brother, just to make things easier, to actually find out that hank was the nickname for a baseball card. Jesus fucking Christ almighty. Even if they were all but friends, Dean and Gordon shared a hopeless look before finally Jo, Dean's secretary, knocked on the door and gave him his way out of that mess. Since Isaac and Tamara were way too into their arguing to even notice, he turned to Gordon, told him he had stuff to do and if please they could meet tomorrow at nine, and when he got a positive answer he nodded in relief and ran the hell out of that room. This so wasn't the job for him, and it was definitely going to drive him fucking crazy, and he didn't have no damned choice anyway. Not for the next ten years, at least. "How the hell can you even want to marry?" Jo asked, shaking her head slightly. "I mean, after working with that every day." Dean shrugged not looking at her, even if he was secretly thankful for her presence. After the fling they had once when he still was an assistant to the owner of the firm, who had retired a couple of years earlier, they had settled on a sort of nice friendship without too many strings attached which was just great for Dean, since it's not like with a kid to raise and a job like his you got time to be friends with many people. "That's people marrying on a fucking whim," he answered as he picked up his coat, "me and Anna aren't. We're rational. We have known each other for quite some time. We know our strengths and weaknesses. It won't turn out like that." "Yeah, sure, and it sounds like you're building a damned bridge, Dean. You told Ben yet, at least?" "I'll do that tonight. Wish me luck there. I mean, he likes her so I think it won't be a problem, but still. Argh. I should actually call her too, dammit. That whole mess..." "Dean, you should actually go on vacation if you ask my opinion. Or go to my mom's and have a night out. But whatever, I won't say anything else. Good luck with everything." "Thanks, Jo. See you tomorrow?" "Yeah, sure. Have a good evening, okay?" She squeezed her arm and he nodded at her before stepping out; and damn, his dad's '67 Chevy Impala wasn't really made to be parked in some crowded alley in New York City. She was made to be on the goddamn road every day, but really. One gets what he can. He let his hand caress the handle of the front door for a second before getting in and starting for Ben's school, hoping that he wasn't going to be late because of the traffic. Not that the kid would ever complain, and Dean did love him for that, too, but still. He hated being late and he hated his job making him being late. He also wished that Lisa was still here, but you can't have everything now, can you? Then again, if she still was there, he maybe would have been able to quit the divorcing, and there wouldn't have been Cassie and that would have been just fucking peachy, but Lisa was Dead and Cassie was a sort of closed chapter which still hurt like a damned bitch and even if the kid wasn't technically his, he was his in every damned other way and he wasn't going to fuck his upbringing up. Also because Dean knew a couple of things about how growing up without a mother feels like and he was set on avoiding that at any costs. Besides, Anna was a lovely girl and she was nice and she really did want to marry him and she was sweet and even if he didn't love her the way he had loved either Lisa or Cassie he was pretty sure it wasn't the same thing for her either. And sincerely, rather than the perfect ending, he'd rather have a good ending, and this one seemed the best he could hope for, and that was what he was thinking as he pulled in front of the school. Thankfully he was on time. He was actually square on time, since he heard a bell ring faintly ten seconds after he stopped. He turned off his Zeppelin tape (listening to music in the car was something he kept for himself only, thank you very much) and waited for the kid to get out, which happened in a minute or so, and when as soon as he was into the car Ben raised an eyebrow at him which he always did when he knew that something was wrong with Dean, Dean wondered if eight-year-olds are supposed to read you this well. "Hey," he said as he started the car again, "how did today go?" "Fine," was the answer with a shrug of shoulders, "usual stuff, had a test, I think it went good, Katie's still annoying but whatever. What 'bout you?" "Nothing special. I mean, usual stuff too. Two cases, lots of stress, Jo says I need a vacation..." "Well, she's right." "Yeah, sometime in the next century I will. Listen, there's something I gotta tell you. No, I'm not quitting the job by the way." "Pity," Ben answered, and Dean just shook his head biting back a laugh. His kid: the only kid in existence who wants his dad to change his job asap even if he makes a good amount of money. Whatever. "No, me and Anna are... I'll ask her to marry me. One of these days." Ben stared at him as Dean stopped at a traffic light and rain started to pour heavily. "Uh. Well. I was sorta expecting it. I mean, you date her and stuff. And, well, she's nice, I guess. But.. are you sure?" "What do you mean, am I sure?" "I mean, I remember how it was with Cassie and... I just, you and her aren't really... oh, well, I guess it's okay." "Are you okay with it? I mean, you two don't know each other very well, but I thought she could bring you to school tomorrow?" Ben nodded again, not looking too enthusiastic but at least he wasn't openly disliking the idea either. "Cool. Right, guess it could work. Her car isn't as cool as this one though." Well, it did show that he raised the kid up. "No car is as cool as this one. Right, well, I guess that before I call her tonight we could get Chinese?" "Oh, yes! Please, dad, really?" "Sure thing," Dean answered as he drove on. He didn't like Chinese as much truth to be told, but hey. Sometimes it's worth it. And that was when Ben suddenly grabbed his arm. "Dad, is there an angel over there?!" Castiel kept on walking under the pouring rain, his chill becoming progressively worse and his shivering likewise; he hadn't noticed any place that looked like sanctuary and he was pretty sure he was going to run into a great trouble soon if he didn't find a solution. That was when he saw it; a sparkly, shiny sign that said Heaven in great, yellow-switching-on-red-switching-on-pin Castiel was so overjoyed to see it that he didn't pay attention to the two huge (fake) wings made of small colored lights that were on the sides of the H, nor to a sign on the door on the ground floor which stated first thing that this Heaven place was a brothel and second thing that it was closed for renovations until the next month. He just climbed up upon the ladder and stood in a position in front of the H from where the wings seemed to sprout right from his back. And then knocked on the closed window. Repeatedly. And then again. And again. And then there was no answer. He didn't even hear the car passing by. "The fuck did you say?" Dean said, stopping the car abruptly. "Angels don't exist!" His mother used to tell him that before she died when he was four. He had pretty much stopped believing in angels since then. "Well, yeah, but look there!" And right. A guy dressed in corduroy banging like crazy on the window of a fucking brothel in which Dean hadn't set foot in ages standing like that with the fake wings in front of him? Well. Yeah. That beat all the kinds of weird Dean had seen in the last ten years or so. "What the fuck?" he shouted as Ben got out of the car, picking an umbrella from the backseat. "I dunno, but..." "Damn, I'd say it was an advertisement, but they're closed, goddamn..." "Dad, he could fall down. I mean, it rains. And he's up there, I dunno if..." "Right, fine, fine, we'll check this out. Hey!" Dean shouted as he went forward and realized that the guy was asking for some prince Sam. What, again? "Dude! You up there! What the hell are you doing, you could fall down!" The guy turned towards them and Jesus, he was drenched, but he also looked like Dean was the first person who had fucking realized he existed in a long time. "Oh, hello!" he said from up there, his voice deep and rough and relieved. What the hell? "I was wondering if maybe you..." And then he put his foot the wrong way and slipped; he barely got time to grip the rail in order not to fall. Dean handed Ben the umbrella, cursing in his head as he ran forward and the guy let out a scream. "Hey, hang up there! Dammit, don't..." No such luck. The guy did manage to hang on to the rail he had been standing on for a second, but then he let out another scream and fell down and really. It was fucking high. "Dad, catch him!" It wasn't like he had needed Ben to say it out loud, but Dean did it anyway and he barely managed to catch the guy before his brains got splattered all over the sidewalk; except that he was fucking heavy and dragged Dean down with him and they both ended up on the ground, the guy hitting his back and Dean hitting his arm, not to mention a half-sprained wrist, but at least they were both alive. "What the hell were you were thinking when you went up there?" Dean asked, even if he felt like an ass just right after because dammit, the dude looked like a goddamn drenched baby bird, strange clothes and all, and he was staring at him with two wide, blue and damn hopeful eyes and it just sounded like he was kicking a puppy. "Are you okay?" Ben asked instead, and at least it had stopped raining. "Oh. Well. Yes. Mostly. I am fine, thank you very much. And about what I was doing up there, I was merely searching for help, but I gathered that it seems like I am not going to get any." "And why there?" "Oh, because Heaven is the place I come from. And I have been wandering very far and long tonight, and I am sad to say that... no one has been very nice to me," he answered deadpan, and Dean didn't want to know how crazy the guy was. Fucking Heaven? Then again, he was pretty sure there had to be a town in Georgia or Kansas or something called Heaven or Haven. Maybe he meant that. No way he meant actual heaven. "Well," he said shrugging, "welcome to New York City." "Thank you," the guy answered, and it was... actually sincere? Like he completely didn't understand that it wasn't supposed to be taken seriously. Jesus Christ. "Listen, you sure you're okay? Maybe I could call somebody for you?" Dean asked, because the guy still looked like the lovechild of a kicked puppy and a drenched baby bird and he just wasn't going to leave him there like that, even if he obviously wasn't completely sane. Then again, he didn't seem dangerous either. "Oh. Yes. But... I'm not sure they'd hear you, even if you called." That was when another thunder started, and when Dean lowered his stare and met Ben's. Ben nodded. Dean sighed. He couldn't resist the guy's face along with his son's face when it was sort of pleading but not really. Dammit. He knew they were going to take him home. He just hope the backseat of his baby wouldn't get too drenched. "... and so Sam's brother showed me this well and told me that if I wished what my heart desired most it would come true, but I must have leaned down too far because I... I fell and then I found myself at the bottom of this round hole, I climbed out, I... we could say I got myself very lost, and then I was lucky enough to meet you two and... here I am," Castiel (or so he introduced himself, and according to Dean it was just fitting that a weird guy like that should have a weird name like that) said as they got out of the elevator of Dean's condo and Ben walked them until the door of the apartment. He talked quietly but making it sound like it was actually true stuff and Dean couldn't really wrap his head around it. He set for the only logical answer, aka making fun out of it. "So, you have an habit of falling off stuff?" he asked, even if his tone was way less sarcastic than he had in program. "Oh, well, usually there's someone around who catches me," Castiel answered deadpan as Dean opened the door, and dude. Dude. Seriously. Lame. Lame. "But don't worry," Castiel added then, "I am sure that very soon Sam will come and find me. I hope sooner than later because I do miss him quite much, and this place is just so strange." Right, Dean thought, let's add that we have a guy who seems jumped out of a fairytale book and he has a prince and not a princess. He hadn't known that fairytales featured gay couples these days but then again, what did he know? He never read any past the Brothers Grimm anyway. "And I wish I could share a true love's kiss with him again, it only happened once and we should be married now, but..." Castiel whispered again, sounding actually fucking sad. Except that Dean's head was stuck on another point. "A what?" "A true love's kiss. The most powerful thing in the world," Castiel said firmly with indeed a lot of conviction, and Dean didn't know how in Hell it was possible that such bullshit didn't sound ridiculous. He spared a glance in Ben's direction. He looked actually impressed. The hell? "Right. Indeed. Listen, man, until your... uh, prince, comes to get you, what do you think you should do?" "Oh. Well, I suppose I need a place to stay for the night." "Which kind of place?" "I... I wouldn't know. I can stay anywhere. I even stayed in a hollow tree once, even if a bed is rather more comfortable." "Right, again. Listen, if... uh, if you want to get in for a minute I can call a taxi for you, that's the most I..." "Oh. That. That would be so nice of you," Castiel answered smiling a tiny smile that sort of lit his face up, and again, what the fuck?" And then Dean realized that Ben was staring at Castiel's jacket. Before Dean could say anything, Ben ran a hand around a hem, which was, as Dean noticed when he looked better, perfectly embroidered and with actual small flowers on the edge. And they were embroidered in detail. Dean coughed as he opened the apartment's door. "Dude, that's cool. Where did you find that?" Ben asked, staring at the jacket. Castiel actually honest to God blushed. "Oh, I sewed it myself. As the trousers. It wasn't so hard, and I had Gabriel to keep me company." "Who's this Gabriel, a friend of yours? We could call him if..." Dean said, even if it sounded way too easy to be actually true. "He is a friend of mine, but he's in Heaven at the moment. Also, he is not... well, he's a different species." "Right. I don't think I want to know that. Listen, if you want you can sit down, then I'll go change out of these clothes and we'll get a cab for you, fine?" "Oh. Surely. Thank you again for your kindness, I..." "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on Ben, that's bed time for you." He pushed Ben out of the living room as Castiel sat down gingerly on the sofa. "Dad?" Ben asked then, when they were in the hallway going towards the bedrooms. "What?" "Are you sure he couldn't stay here?" "That's out of fucking question. No. He just... Ben, come on, you heard him!" "Well, he's... y'know. The way he puts it, it doesn't sound crazy." "Yeah, but it is crazy. Dammit, I need to call Anna, too. Listen, if..." "Come on, it's obvious. He doesn't have a place to go. You really want to throw him out?" Damn kids and straightforward questions. "Listen, I'll see. If he really can't go anywhere else he can stay the night and then we'll figure out. But go to bed now, alright?" Ben looked very, very smug as he nodded and ran for his room, but Dean figured that he'd just let it go for now. He picked up his cellphone and called Anna, making arrangements for the next morning; then he got rid of his coat and shoes and got back into the room. "Man, listen, if you... oh, crap." Of course. Of course as soon as he was back the guy would have been passed out on the couch. Then again, the poor bastard was drenched and whatever the hell had happened to him (even if Dean wasn't really going to believe the whole magic well shit at all) it must have tired him a lot. Not to mention the falling off the brothel's railing bit. Right. And he looked so peaceful while sleeping, his breath regular, his hair half-wet and falling in uneven bangs upon his pale forehead, that Dean really couldn't bring himself to wake him up. Oh, fine. He went to his room, grabbed one of his blankets, draped it over his new acquaintance and made sure to close the door connecting the hallway to the living room as he went to bed himself. The guy didn't seem dangerous or psycho but you can never know. Meanwhile, as soon as Sam got the news of his beloved's disappearance, his reactions definitely wasn't the one Lucifer had planned. He had told his brother a story about some old hag which had brought Castiel to the well before Lucifer himself could stop her, and Sam had bought it, but instead of just making peace with it and go hunting for some random changeling, he had jumped into the well himself screaming his lungs out and saying that he would save his betrothed. Betrothed. Who had even taught Sam to talk anyway? Not to mention that he had been followed by some chipmunk which lived with Castiel, or so Crowley had informed him. Anyway, that was so not good. There was a serious risk that Sam would find Castiel, and he could absolutely not allow it. "Okay, people, let's just close this thing, okay? Who did even open it, I don't have an idea..." Chuck Shurley, company workman for NYW by day and wannabe writer by night (even if he had at least two novels written and no agent or publisher, otherwise he wouldn't work with sewers, you get it), sighed as his two co-workers nodded and they started went to get the cover of the drain which some idiotic kid had probably moved last night just so they could lose a shitload of time this morning, and Christ, Chuck hated his job so fucking much, and to think that at least this was a break from boredom... Suddenly a wooooosh could be heard coming from inside the drain and a second later he wished for boredom. Boredom was underrated. Boredom was awesome. Because well, it just couldn't happen that a six feet four tall guy dressed in red velvet like a goddamn Disney prince and who actually wore a fucking honest to God sword just jumped out of the fucking drain. "Hey, man, what are you..." Chuck started, but then the guy yelled silence!! and Chuck found himself with a sword at his throat. Oh, fuck. He knew he shouldn't have got out of bed that morning. "Hey, man, easy with that thing, uh? Really, I..." "Your name, peasant... and quickly!" the Disney-prince-in-disguise said, and well, Chuck wasn't going to be the one pissing him off. "Ch... Chuck, mister. Careful with that sword, just, be..." "Are you in league with the old hag who sent my beloved Castiel to this foul place, Chuck?" Chuck blinked once. Then again. The he opened his mouth but the woooosh noise started again and goddamn chipmunk jumped out of the drain in order to land on the Disney-prince-in-disguise shoulder. A chipmunk, who apparently wasn't too okay with his squealing, since he did look sort of pissed. The Disney prince didn't though; he actually serenely turned to the chipmunk who had ran down into his free hand. "You must be Gabriel, right? Uh, you are quite different from before, but that's no urgent matter. Since I gather you must have seen it, can you tell me if this man part of this evil plot?" The chipmunk looked at Chuck for a second, then positively made a disgusted face and started shaking his head, still squealing like he was actually trying to fucking talk and like he wasn't pleased with the fact that he couldn't. Thankfully the Disney prince seemed to sort of gather that the answer was negative and Jesus, a chipmunk was saving his ass. What. Then the prince jumped forward and held the sword to Chuck's throat. Right. "Alright, we established that you aren't part of the evil plot, but don't you dare lying to me now," the Disney prince said from his six feet four inches and with a genuinely blinding smile. "Oh. Sure. I wouldn't. I'd never. I..." "By chance, have you seen my beloved partner coming from the very same path I came from? My other half, the fairest creature you'll ever see, and the answer to my love duet, and the most enchanting man who ever had the grace to walk this plane, and my plane?" Chuck shook his head sadly. "Er, well, no, but even if I like women, I wish I had someone like that, man. But, er, no." And then the Disney prince put out the sword and actually clapped Chuck on the shoulder and gave him that totally serene smile which was seriously kind of freaking him out. "Then keep your eyes open, Chuck. I'm sure you will," he said before turning to the chipmunk. "Gabriel, come on!" he yelled, and then ran in the other direction and freaking jumped on the roof of a taxi and then of a car and in ten seconds Broadway was a cacophony of honking. "You okay, man?" asked Barnes, one of the guys, and Chuck nodded shakily. "Jesus fucking Christ, have you seen that chipmunk?!!" Chuck Shurley hated his job. He hated his job a whole fucking lot. And then he wondered if the Disney prince would sue him if he stole his looks for the main character of those series about the supernatural hunter he was planning to start writing sometime soon. When Castiel opened his eyes, light was filling the living room and he felt pleasantly warm, which was definitely a welcomed change from yesterday's chill; his heart swelled in gratitude as he noticed that someone, most probably Dean, had covered him with that blanket. It was such a kind gesture, and from what he had gathered this place wasn't at all full of kind people. He shrugged it off, standing up; he felt sort of dizzy, but he figured it was all natural. After all he had ended up in another world and while he was sure that Sam would come for him, he couldn't realistically believe that he'd come right that moment. As he stood up, he took a look around; the living room was directly connected to the kitchen and so he had a good view of the whole apartment; and well, while the living room wasn't exactly dirty, it was just mostly untidy with books scattered everywhere, the covers for the sofas put wrongly and the floor definitely in need of a swipe, the kitchen was a mess. Castiel really didn't recognize half of what was around him, but he knew enough and well, you just can't stay in a kitchen where the sink is full of dirty plates and cutlery, a couple of unwashed pans is still on the table and boxes full of food are scattered all around. Then again, Dean apparently lived alone with his son and he figured that it'd have been more difficult to tidy your house when you can't share duties with your loved one and have to take care of someone else. Case was, Castiel was an extremely neat person and tidying never was a chore for him; and really, after all Dean and Ben did for him yesterday, he thought that he could repay them at least a little bit. Having taken his decision, he took his jacket off, sighing as he noticed that it was now ruined for good, and rolled back the sleeves of his shirt until his elbow; then he decided he would start with the kitchen. He reached the sink and then noticed a strange, dark box with buttons on its top on the kitchen's table; curious, he touched the one which read on and suddenly the device lightened up and music started to blast from it. He was delighted, since after all that happened yesterday his head really wasn't coming up with any tune to hum to keep himself distracted, and he always liked to have music while cleaning. He also found this particular piece extremely pleasing, even if it was in a different language; nonetheless, he though as he picked up a plate, a sponge and some soap, it repeated the same words over and over after some time, and since he had a good ear, he founds himself humming softly along with the music, and with a pretty decent pronunciation too. (He couldn't know that it was Italian, that it was opera and that the man he was currently singing along with was trying to win his beloved, who as a profession sold sexual services for money ; then again, he wasn't off key and if he knew that he was saying that love is the heartbeat of the entire universe, curse and delight of someone's heart, he'd have probably agreed.) He quickly went through the dishes, then he cleaned up the table and placed the food boxes neatly in the center since he didn't know their original location; then he found a broom, figured out where the dirt was supposed to go and proceeded to sweep up the floor. When he was satisfied with the kitchen, he moved to the living room; there, he straightened the sofas' covers, then put in a neat order all the paper and books on the table, then opened the windows in order to change the air as the radio kept on playing (by this point, he was still singing along with the man and telling the woman that he was extremely happy and that he loved her so much); he picked up the broom again and while it took a bit more to take care of the floor because the room was bigger, in fifteen minutes he was done and he couldn't help paying himself a compliment. Then he realized that his back was hurting a bit, and his muscles felt sore; well, he had slept in wet clothes after all. He avoided the closed door, figuring that it was where his hosts slept and not wishing to disturb them, and turned the other way in order to see if he could find maybe a room where to refresh himself for a bit. He sighed, wishing that Sam was here with him; but then again, he thought, until he came, trying a new experience could just be worth it, right? He didn't notice that Ben had woken up when he had accidentally made too much noise putting a dish in the sink while he was washing them and had witnessed more or less the last five minutes of his stunt. "Dude," Ben whispered as Castiel disappeared in the opposite part of the hallway, "that was beyond cool." "Dad! Wake up!" Sempre libera vegg'io folleggiare di gioia in gioia... "Dad! Come on! Wake up now!" Vo' che scorra il viver mio pei sentieri del piacer... Dean groaned, wondering why the hell Ben was up before him (it never happened), why he was being so insistent and why was the radio blasting fucking opera. Right, Anna liked it, maybe it was still tuned to that classical radio station she had put it on when she was here for dinner last, and Dean likes classic rock, thank you, but why... "DAD!!" "Argh, comin', comin', what the hell's going on?" "You so need to see this. It's just, you need to!" Well. That was excitement, to say the least... Dean pulled himself up as the radio kept on blasting the goddamn Traviata. A diletti sempre nuovi dee volare il mio pens... and then it stopped because Dean turned it off with a relieved sigh. And then he realized that the kitchen was pristine clean and that the living room hadn't been so neat since they moved here and that it was fucking shining. "What?" he said, not really believing it. "You can't have possibly done this." Ben raised an eyebrow and his expression said are you fucking kidding me all over. "Nope. Someone else did." "Someone..." Right. Castiel wasn't anywhere to be seen and the jacket was carefully folded on the sofa's arm. "Oh, Jesus." And then he heard some soft humming coming from the bathroom, which was definitely the goddamn Traviata and with an accent that wasn't half bad; he looked at Ben again. "You actually saw him do that?" "Yep. He was, like, a pro. Or something." "Right. I'll. Uh. I'll check. You go have breakfast, okay?" Ben nodded even if he didn't exactly move and Dean went to knock on the door. "Hey? Castiel? Can I, uh..." "Come on in!" came he answer, and Dean did, just to find himself in front of a very naked Castiel just out of a shower with just a towel covering him from the waist down, and well, duh, the man was indeed well built. Perfect proportions, and good height, and compact frame, and hair which seemed to hold themselves in some crazy kind of sexy cut, and... What the fuck? "Hello, Dean." "Er. Uh. Hi." "I hope you had nice dreams," Castiel deadpanned as he dripped water on the floor, because while he had the shower figured, he obviously hadn't figured the shower mat or anything else. "Christ, I think I'm living in one or something. Hey, did you..." "Oh, this room is just magical. Where does the water come from?" Right. He wasn't expecting that. "Uh. Duh. The... the pipes, I guess?" Dean faintly heard someone ringing the bell. Oh, damn, Anna was there and he... "And how does it go in the pipes?" "Er. I... couldn't say," and maybe he even knew but right now he couldn't come up with an explanation for how sewers work. He faintly heard Anna ask Ben if they got a maid and Ben answering not exactly. Right. Not exactly and he had to get the fuck out of this room before... He took a step behind, Castiel took one forward, there was water still leaking and they both tripped over it and Dean fell behind. As the door opened behind him, because he hadn't locked it, he cursed himself for having not done it, and then he was crashing on the ground with a very semi-naked Castiel right exactly on him and not only his eight years old son watching them from a couple of feet away snickering, but he wasn't alone. See, Anna, his fiancé, was a lovely girl with huge, doe-like eyes and bright red hair, and if right now her face wasn't as red and fiery and bright as that hair, Dean had never become a divorce attorney. Oh, shit. Shitshitshitshit. He disentangled himself from Castiel, but that was too late already. "Anna! Wait a second, I... that's not what it seems!" "Right," she answered, and her voice was steel. Oops. "And then what it was?" "It... it isn't... he isn't..." "Oh, Dean, just, don't, okay? First I never stay the night here because there's Ben and you know, there are boundaries, and I think that it's great because it just shows how sensitive you are, and then I find you with a man in a shower?" "Showers are indeed most wonderful," Castiel muttered, and Dean wished he could commit harakiri. "Really. Yeah, I'm sure. Well, enjoy your bonding time, Dean." "Wait, Anna, no! Please, can we talk about this later, I..." "No, we can't." And then she was out shutting the front door behind her and... well, Ben was sort of really trying not to give into a fit of laughter and Dean hoped for him that he wouldn't do that, and Castiel was looking at the door like he had sensed that something was wrong but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what. Oh, fuck. "Alright. I need some coffee first. Then I'll deal with it. Ben, you go have your breakfast now. And you, find something to fucking dress yourself with and then we need to have a talk and possibly in a very short time. So get the fuck on with it now!" Well. Considering that Castiel blushed and ran for the bathroom while Ben stopped trying not to laugh and ran for the kitchen, Dean probably still had it under control. More or less. Jesus, he thought as he went to get himself a nice cup of hot and black and strong coffee. It wasn't like he was going to run after Anna in his pjs anyway. As Ben got dressed, he finished his third cup of coffee and then went for the bathroom and knocked. Hard. "Castiel! You in there? Listen, that was a mess before, and I really can't... I mean, I know you're waiting for prince charming or whatever..." "Prince Sam!" came from the bathroom. "Right, but you gotta understand that... hey, where the hell did you find that?" Dean asked as Castiel got out of the room wearing another set of black wool trousers and matching jacket and his shirt from the day before washed clean. "Oh, I asked Ben if you had some fabric that you didn't need, any fabric was fine, and he said there were some black curtains that someone you knew left there in a spare room and you always say you should throw them away, so..." "Wait, you made these in twenty minutes out of Cassie's black curtains? Oh Jesus Christ, whatever, I give up." "You're sad." "What?" "You're sad. I feel it coming from you. I am sorry if..." "No, I'm not sad, I'm fucking angry!" Dean screamed, and sincerely he couldn't care less. "You know about anger?! That's a nasty emotion, if..." "I heard about it, true, but I am afraid I've never experienced..." Dean took a long breath and raised up a hand. "Right. Let's do this the easy way. See, that thing before? I'm sure you didn't even realize it, but you got me into a damn mess with Anna." "That girl before? Oh, she was just lovely..." "Yes, she is, and I actually am about to propose to her, if you get the drill." "Oh, that's just so wonderful!" Castiel fucking beamed, and Dean figured that... "So you found your true love? I'm so happy for..." "Right, maybe not all your happily ever after crap, but the point is that you fell on me while half naked and now she's gotten into her mind that we... that we..." Castiel suddenly became three shades paler. "That we had sexual intercourse?" Jesus fucking Christ, Dean was going to Hell straight, if he kept on blaspheming like this in his head. Or well. Thankfully he was an atheist. Still. "Yeah, exactly!" Castiel seemed positively horrified. At least. "Oh. That's... oh, no, I'm so sorry! Maybe you should, well, maybe rush to her side, and sing to her, and then she'd be reassured of... Dean? Why are you staring at me like that?" "... are you for fucking real?" "... I... I guess so?" "You seem just, out of a fucking Hallmark card." "Is that a bad thing?" And how the hell was Dean supposed to answer considering that Castiel probably didn't have an idea of what Hallmark even was? Then he noticed that Ben was standing at the door, dressed, and he was still in his pjs. Oh, fuck, he swore before running to his room to change. Castiel raised an eyebrow at Ben, who shrugged and nodded at him. Right. Dean so didn't want to know what they were saying without even fucking speaking. So, as we had stated before, clearly Lucifer was so not going to risk the chance of Sam finding Castiel; also, he had been keeping track on the latter's movements through his sort of dark magic (which implied, looking through the surface of the water: yeah, Lucifer was cool like that), but still, he wasn't surely going to try going there himself. Also, he knew that Crowley was still hoping at least for a promotion, if not something else, and he was perfectly aware of his servant's feelings towards him, which made everything considerably easier. It took just a tiny bit of flirting and a couple of promises to convince Crowley to go after Sam, and Lucifer watched with satisfaction as he jumped into the well. Chapter 2"Jesus, another one?" Chuck said as he heard noise coming from the drain again. And yeah, there he was, a man tall more or less like he was, dressed sharply even if it was still weirdly fairy-tale clothes (though at least they were black), not exactly handsome but the kind of person you might find fascinating if you talk to them long enough. He was having trouble hoisting himself out though, and Chuck sighed and turned to Barnes and his third pal, Demian. Now, Gabriel hadn't really signed up for this shit. Damn, he loved Castiel like he'd have loved a brother if he had one and if he was a human and not a chipmunk (or if Castiel had been a chipmunk), but this, this was way too much. This stupid world without happy endings had left him without speech and that sucked ass, people, it sucked a fucking lot, and at least he could as well swear since they weren't in Heaven anymore. Also, he knew that Crowley was up to no fucking good and he was glad to have followed him in the kitchen of the strange restaurant Sam had chosen to get some food in order to replace his strength, because of course killing fucking machines had tired him. And now Crowley was staring into a damn pot full of boiling water and freaking Lucifer's face was staring out of it as three apples floated on the surface. And Lucifer was informing him that the apples were poisoned and that Crowley was to give one to Castiel; after a bite the poor bastard would end up in a troubled sleep and then he'd die when the clock stroke twelve that same night and Gabriel shuddered; that was plain fucking evil and he wasn't going to let Crowley get away with that. As he realized that Lucifer was about to give away Castiel's location, Gabriel took a fork from the shelf he was upon and threw it down into the pot; Lucifer's image disappeared but Crowley had got the apples and took notice of him. Fuck. Crowley couldn't and wouldn't make a mess in the kitchen, sure, but still... Gabriel ran very fast until he arrived at Sam's table where the prince was sitting and when Crowley glared at him from the other side, he just smirked and tried to stay close to Sam's side. "Prince, I think that the chipmunk is dangerous." Sam raised an eyebrow as he took a fork and dove into a salad with chicken that he had found extremely appetizing, at least from the picture that showed it in the menu. "Gabriel? Nah, I think he just wants to talk. And everyone should have the chance to talk. And how could such a cute little thing be dangerous?" Gabriel kept himself from biting Sam's finger off. Cute little thing his ass. "Did you need to say something to me?" Yes, dammit, but how the fuck was he supposed to if he couldn't damn well talk? Ah well, he was going to resort to very, very low means. He cleared his throat. Then turned towards Crowley. Then he made the most evil face he could muster up. Then he stood straight and stared at Sam tilting his head. The he noticed that there was some candy in a bowl at the centre of the table and he grabbed a red one still tilting his head like Castiel always damn did. Then he took a bite of the candy and dropped on the table, hoping it made a good dead impression. Then he looked up at Sam. "You're saying that my beauty is such that it makes you almost die?" Crowley snorted. Sam looked pleased. Gabriel wanted to puke. He settled on eating the rest of the candy and figuring that he'd stop Crowley on his own. But damn, Castiel could choose someone a little less conscious of his dazzling beauty. Damn prince Sam and his 6 feet four inches and perfect hair and perfect body and dimpled smile. Gabriel definitely wanted to puke, but he figured he should be a human in order to do that. Which didn't mean he couldn't glare at Crowley. Ah well, at least the candy was good. Dean couldn't wait for this to be over. Because the way Castiel looked at everything like he was a kid at Disneyland for the first time and no, the pun was intended, was making him uncomfortable. Highly uncomfortable. He ended up leading him and pushing him along or otherwise he'd end up ridiculously late and that just would have been the icing on the cake; when he finally got into the hall, Jo looked at him like he had grown two heads, which... well, considering who he was bringing with him, was more than a justified reaction. "Jo? Listen, are they already here?" "Yes, but they just arrived. Gordon Walker, too." "Awesome. Listen, I need you to do me a favor, okay? The guy who went in with me..." Dean said, eying Castiel who was in turn observing the firm's aquarium like it held the mysteries of the universe, "I ended up picking him from the street yesterday. Right, I know, let's say..." "... that it was an act of mercy?" "Right. That. I love you when you just get it. Anyway listen, can you help him finding some mean to get back to his city or country or whatever while I deal with the Walkers?" "Sure thing. How..." "Castiel!" Dean hissed, and then here he was. Duh. He was fast. "Yes?" "Okay, I need to go to work. This here is Jo, she's going to help you get home, alright? Just tell her the name or stuff and she'll find that, I guess. Jo, this is Castiel, Castiel, this is Jo, I need to run." And then Dean disappeared, but not before hearing Castiel say 'Pleased to meet you, Joanna Beth', because Jo had to have her entire name on the badge. Jesus fucking Christ almighty. If he wasn't an atheist, he'd have so just signed his ticket to Hell. Thankfully, since the night before, the spirits had quieted and the meeting went way, way better than the previous one; he was just saying that there really hadn't been any reason not to be reasonable as he got out of the office and back into the main hall and noticed that Castiel was still staring at the fish in the aquarium and that Jo was making signs at him so that he'd reach her desk. She shook her head as he did. "Dean, I'm sorry but... well. I couldn't. I mean, first I checked but he has no driver's license, no passport, no insurance, nothing. Then when he said Heaven I checked if he didn't actually mean Haven but no, he says it isn't any. Not the one in Kansas, not the one in New York and not the one in Wisconsin. Or the one in Australia or the one in England either. And then I tried to ask if he meant like Heaven where you go when you're dead and he said that while it is indeed a place of contentment everyone there was most surely alive! Dean, what the hell's going on?" Dammit. "I wish I knew, I wish I goddamn knew." And then he realized that Tamara was staring at Castiel who was staring at the fish and goddamnit, that really wasn't the... Dammit. He arrived too late. She had spoken first. "Is fish all that interesting?" Castiel turned towards her and tilted his head slightly. "I find their motions fascinating. You don't?" She stared for a second, then shrugged. "To each their own..." she muttered, and then Dean noticed that Castiel was staring at her hair now, which was carefully braided in a way which Castiel probably found fascinating or something. "What?" "Oh. Nothing. Just, you have very beautiful hair. And your eyes... sparkle." "Why, thanks," she answered, probably slightly put out by his very, very polite tone but pleased nonetheless. "Well, you are very beautiful. Surely the man that holds your heart is really lucky." Dean was positively sure he was never going to forget how Tamara started screaming about how unprofessional it was and how her husband seemed equally pissed and how the other firm's lawyer that had come along with Gordon started threatening to ruin the whole deal and how for the entire time Castiel just was staring at them just like he didn't get it. Which he probably didn't and it was hardly his fault, after all he'd have never started the conversation and would have been perfectly fine with staring at the fish, but damn that was Dean's fucking job and this couldn't go on. Oh, Christ. He lunged forward and tried to patch things up and managed to organize another meeting for that afternoon, then took Castiel by the elbow and brought him towards the elevator. He had to solve this mess soon and call Anna too, Jesus, but meanwhile he'd make a couple of things clear. "Listen, that was... you can't say shit like that!" "You're... you're angry again. I'm... I'm so sorry, I just don't... why did she get upset?" "Because they're divorcing, fuck!" "They're... what?" "Divorcing! It happens when people don't love each other any more. They fucking leave each other and settling the terms is my goddamn job, alright?" Dean might have felt guilty at Castiel's completely shocked expression as he stated that people actually could stop loving each other and divorce and stuff. He might have, but he was so fucking pissed that he couldn't be. "What... what kind of a world is this, when you marry one day and leave each other the next and inflict so much pain upon yourself?" Castiel sighed as Dean led him towards the elevator. "Well, it's fucking reality!" "I think I liked Heaven better." "Yeah," Dean answered not able to help the venom falling from his lips, "I guess you would." "Sire, I believe we might cover more ground separately," Crowley said as Sam stood on a statue at one of the entrances in Central Park, looking at the crowd. "You could go one way and me and the chipmunk could go the other," he added, careful to use a soothing tone. "Well, Crowley, I do believe it's an inspired plan," Sam said getting down from the statue and turning his back to the entrance; all to Crowley's luck, since the chipmunk started squeaking and oh, bloody hell, there was Castiel along with some other guy and... and... Crowley grabbed the chipmunk and stuffed him into his coat, then turned his head frantically and as soon as he noticed another young man with dark hair who was walking some quarter of a mile far or so, he shouted at Sam and since the other man had his back at them, it was easy for the prince to mistake him for Castiel; meanwhile, Crowley felt his hand bleed as teeth sank into it and he wished he could just kill the bloody chipmunk, except that he really didn't want to get his hands dirty with killing any life form other than Castiel, and he wasn't exactly too big on doing that too but well, orders were orders. And he didn't really want to explain it to Sam later should he find the corpse. He would deal with that after having dealt with Castiel; he smirked to himself, reached for one of the apples in his bag and then snapped his fingers. Hey, he came from a fucking magic kingdom, he could do magic, he was bloody well going to use it. As soon as they were far enough and at the beginning of a path leading straight into the park, Dean straightened his suit and took a deep breath. He could do this. "Listen, I really tried to be nice and do the right thing here..." "Oh, you have been very nice to me, actually the only one..." "Yeah, yeah, right, sure, but the point is that... that's my job, okay? That's what I do for a living and I can't possibly risk that. And I can't possibly risk Anna either and I can't deal with anything that isn't stable right now because I just... I can't handle it, okay? I'm sorry, but I think you should just wait for your... prince Sam to arrive and I can't help you anymore. I can give you some money," he said reaching for his wallet and handing Castiel some two hundred and fifty bucks, "call your friends, have them brings fucking swords, I dunno but I just... I can't." And instead of the reaction he had figured, Castiel just smiled at him, a tiny bit, and nodded as he took the bills. "Dean, I... I understand it. Do not concern yourself for me. You already did a lot more than I could have asked for while I... I just caused you trouble when you were my friend and... I really wish I had not, so... I get it. It's alright. I'll just go and... best luck with Anna. I... I wish you every happiness," he whispered before nodding and walking away. Dean suddenly found that some kind of fucking lump had appeared out of nowhere in his throat and why was he feeling so damn sad? He shook his head, turning his back to the park. That was the sane thing to do and Dean had swore he was never going to do insane in his life, not fucking ever, and clearly he didn't just go but turned around. And saw two things. First, Castiel kneeling next to some homeless guy who was definitely in need of a meal and probably gave him at least fifty of those bucks considering that the homeless guy was just about to kiss the dude's hand, dammit, and then he ended up talking to a couple of people sitting on a bench, one of which was a guy with a goddamn baseball cap with a pig on it and another was a woman who looked utterly pissed and they were talking about princes from what he heard? Oh, fine. "Castiel!" he called running back towards him, "what the hell are you..." "Dean!" Castiel goddamn beamed, and he seemed overjoyed. What, again? "They are Bobby and Ellen and they said they've seen Sam! Are you really sure it was him?" "Ellen...?" he turned and had to blush as he realized that the woman was actually Jo's mother, in whose bar he had gone for drinks quite often. Oh, just awesome. She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded as he said something lame like what a small world is this. "Son, if your boyfriend's an idjit who put a sword through the roof of my fucking bus..." "... and who almost damn impaled me instead of my bag..." "... and if he's got floppy hair, a stupid smile and he dressed in red then yes, that's definitely him." "Oh, wonderful, thanks so much," Dean muttered. "Oh, you have been so helpful!" Castiel said earnestly, and Dean just shook his head before nodding at Bobby, waving at Ellen and telling Castiel they should have a talk. "Another idjit," Bobby said while they were going, but Dean didn't hear him. "Cas, what the hell? If you give out money like that it's not gonna last, you know?" "Well, but he needed it so much more than I did." Which might have been a point, but still. "Listen, can I ask you something?" "Sure!" Castiel answered, clearly in a very good mood. "How long have you and Sam been... uh, together?" Castiel thought about it for a second. "About one day, I guess. Give or take." Dean stared at him. "You mean that it feels like a day because you're really in love..." "No, no. I mean a day as per in twenty-four hours," Castiel replied seriously. Well, that just beat it all. "You're kidding me. A day? You can't get married after a day!" "Why not?" "You're joking." "I am not. I am absolutely serious." "You can't marry someone after a day just because you're in love!" Dean tried to reply, but Castiel just tilted his head at him for a second again, smiled that tiny smile of his and said yes, of course with such conviction that for a second Dean almost believed him. Then he figured that in for a penny, in for a pound, and he followed Castiel into the park and bought him a kebab at some stand just because. "I just don't get how can you be in love with someone you barely even know," Dean muttered as Castiel positively devoured the kebab. "Oh, but I know his heart. And Dean, this is delicious. I have never tasted food such as this," he said with a contented expression on his face. At least. "Turkish food always wins," Dean muttered. "Indeed. And, for how long did you know your Anna?" "Oh. Uh. Two years?" Castiel tilted his head at him while raising an eyebrow. "And you still haven't proposed? Well, I can indeed believe she's angry at you..." he said as he finished the kebab, and then Dean almost shouted because this guy dressed in black with a white cape selling popcorns, candy floss, sweets and basically kids' stuff had fucking jumped in front of them while holding up a caramel apple. "Oh, but look at you, sir, you just have the face of someone who needs a dessert, don't you?" the guy asked in a pretty strong German accent that to Dean seemed kind of too German to be real. "Well..." Castiel started, since the guy was obviously referring to him. "I would be mostly happy to offer you a free one," the guy kept on, "today is free caramel apple day and tomorrow will be free waffle day and..." "Then it's most kind of..." Castiel said while reaching out, but Dean's instincts kicked in. See, after his mother died in a house fire when he was four, he and his dad spent a lot of time travel ing around, mostly because his dad just didn't seem able to find a place to actually settle, but that wasn't the point. The point wasn't even that Dean learned very, very soon that happily ever afters don't really exist because when you live happily ever after your mother gets to see her grandchildren before she dies. The point was that his dad made sure to teach him a lot of things to keep himself safe from a very early age, and one, since they always moved around, was be fucking wary of strangers and never accept anything for free, especially if it's food or a drink. And Dean had never even tried once to disobey that specific order and right now? That felt exactly like the occasion when you should just not trust someone. He reached out and grabbed Castiel's wrist before he could take the stick on which the apple was. "Sorry, man, but free won't cut it. Next time I'll be glad to pay for one. Come on, let's go," he said before dragging Castiel away. Bloody hell, Crowley thought, and then the goddamn chipmunk started moving in his pocket and fuck fuck fuck, he had goddamn bitten through his pants! Crowley let the apple fall, barely noticing that as soon as it touched the ground all the grass surrounding it died; he just caught the chipmunk and stored it in the popcorn holder as it squirmed. Gabriel, on his side, was absolutely pissed with the turn of events, but at least he had managed to render the first apple useless and the guy who was with Castiel obviously wasn't an idiot, at least; for now, it wasn't even too bad. He figured he should just wait for a way out, and meanwhile he grabbed a popcorn and started to munch on it. Mm. Delicious. This world had the great inconvenience of not allowing him to talk, but the food almost made up for it. "Dean, why did you..." "Listen, do you trust me?" Dean asked as he tried to get as far away from that creep as possible. "Sure I do, but..." "Then there's a golden rule you should stick to while you're here, and it's never accept something for free. It's usually some way to screw you later." "Well, if you say so..." Dean just shrugged and hoped for Castiel that he did get it. "You know, uh, most normal people here, uh, before getting married, they date." "Date?" Castiel answered, tilting his head again, his expression screaming a failed to process this information all over. He sorta reminded Dean of those Vulcan people in the Star Trek movies, but he shut the thought out. "Yeah. They... go out. To some special place. Like, I dunno, movies. A restaurant, a museum. The fucking park. They talk." "Talk about what?" "About... about each other! What they like, what they dislike, stuff like that." "You have such strange customs regarding love," Castiel said, sounding like he was mostly interested in figuring the puzzle out. "Well, should we do like you do? Meet, go to lunch and marry?" "Oh, you're forgetting about the happily ever after," Castiel answered seriously, and Dean wished he could believe him. "Castiel, not to harsh your... enthusiasm, but the problem is that it doesn't exist." "Of course it does, Dean! It does exist and good things do happen! It isn't that hard as a concept, you know?" "Yeah, and as I can safely say since is my job, most marriages are a success if they don't end up in a divorce, without counting happiness." "And what about you and Anna? Won't you... live happily ever after, I mean?" Jesus, why did Castiel need to get there? "I don't know! I don't even know if she'd want to see me after today!" "But how could she, if you love each other?" "That's complicated!" "Well, it doesn't have to be! And anyway, does she even know?" "Does she even know what?" "How much you love her, of course!" Dean found himself kind of unable to answer that. "Of... of course she does! I just, uh, I don't talk about it every second, but..." "And how would she know that?" "Oh, come on, that's such a stupid question, one..." "Actually, that isn't a stupid question at all, man." Dean jerked to his right and ended up face to face with a young guy wearing some weird kind of black robe over plain jeans and a flannel, with short black hair and a pretty open face and holding a book in a hand and what looked suspiciously like a joint in the other. Dean ignored the joint and squinted and looked at the title of the book. G. W. Hegel, The Science Of Logic. Oh, great. Now also Central Park's philosophy students who went to study there instead of using some NYU library had to have a say, didn't they? "... what?" "Dude, see this stuff? These people have spent centuries trying to understand that, among other things. And they didn't get it, which probably meant they thought about it too much, but I thought 'bout it too and I can assure you that you can't take that for granted." "And who are you, sorry?" "Oh, sorry. I'm Andrew, you can call me Andy, whatever. You?" "Er, hi. I'm Dean, he's Castiel and we really should..." "Oh, we shouldn't," Castiel said then, realizing he had an ally. "See, we weren't exactly discussing that in a theoretical approach, but the point is that he really needs to show his beloved how much he really loves her and he keeps on saying that there's no need and that she knows, but I am fairly sure that it isn't that easy. Isn't it?" Andy shook his head and turned to Dean. "Dude, that's a huge no. You like a girl, you gotta earn her to keep her with you. You can't just assume that she'll just believe that if you don't remind her once in a while! You should show her you need her, it's not like she reads your mind." "Exactly," Castiel said with an air of triumph. Dean felt outnumbered. "And what should I do, according to you two?" "Duh, you could bring her dancing," Andy said as he took a smoke, and Dean shook his head vehemently. "I don't dance!" he answered, and then goddammit, a girl who was sitting on the grass with a book too (Critique Of The Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant, Jesus) stood up and reached them. "Well, you could dedicate her a song, maybe sing it to her." "That'd be a wise idea," Castiel agreed, not even minding that she hadn't been invited. "I don't sing either! And who are you by the way?" "Oh, I'm Ava, me and Andy are in the same class. And I think that you don't have much imagination here, pal." "What..." "Dean, they're right. I mean, you should at least hold her close when she's near you, even if you do not dance, and you should find the words to tell her. I mean, she is probably asking herself how does she know you do love her, especially after this morning. You could... maybe send her flowers!" "Oh, that'd have been so sweet," Ava said, and then another five people from the open air studying class joined the party and started to throw out suggestions with Castiel more or less moderating the conversation, and did Dean ever think Castiel didn't have social skills? Apparently discussing with philosophy students about how to really show the true meaning of love did work to develop them, duh. The problem was that then some Jake guy decided to call his friend who didn't study philosophy but rather English literature with a particular attention to goddamn Victorian era and that was how Dean ended up standing up like an idiot next to Castiel while thirty people planned how exactly he should win Anna's affections back, and the fact that the guy who drove the bus and Jo's mom ended up there too watching from afar wasn't making him that much more comfortable. "Alright, alright," Castiel said soothingly at one point, "I guess that at this point we could decide how to act? We discussed the matter thoroughly, I believe." Everyone agreed and first thing Andy phoned to some cousin of his who had a friend who had a flower shop near the park; Castiel called the shop and started to describe which flowers they needed and how he wanted them arranged and if please he could reach them when he was done; then Ava noticed that there were two guys dressed like freaking eighteenth century courtesans selling tickets for some kind of themed masked ball and five minutes later Dean had spent fifty dollars on two tickets. Then the flower shop guy arrived bringing a goddamn heart shaped garland made of pink, pale roses. Dean thought it was sickeningly Hallmark, but everyone else was indeed satisfied with it and so after attaching the tickets to it, Dean blurted Anna's work address so that they could deliver them now. Then he paid another twenty-five dollars and then his shoulders hurt because with all the pats on the back he received from half of the students of either the letters or the philosophy departments of NYU, it was a miracle they didn't break any bone. "Oh dear, I just hope it works," he said when everyone was gone and he was left alone with Castiel, who was looking at him with something close to sympathy. "I am sure it will," he answered with such certainty that Dean couldn't help believing him. Three minutes later, his cell phone rang. Duh, that was fast delivery. Castiel nodded at Dean and Dean pressed the red button. "Anna...?" "Dean! Oh my God, did you send me the flowers?" "Yes, I..." "Oh, I loved them! Listen, can you head over here for a second? I just can't believe it, they're so beautiful!" "Yeah. Yeah, sure. See you in a few..." he said before closing the call and meeting Castiel's knowing smirk. Dude. It really did work. "These are just so exquisite. People usually send cards, but you went all the way to find real flowers and the color is just perfect and oh, Dean, thank you," Anna said before slender, soft fingers wrapped around his neck; Dean brought his head down and kissed her softly, feeling so relieved that he couldn't even say. If Castiel was staring at the aquarium that Anna had in her very high class literary agent studio, whatever. "And the tickets to that ball, too? It's just... so not like you, you know?" "But... you liked them right? I can... uh. Make an effort, y'know. And Anna, listen, about this morning..." She looked at him expectantly before casting a glance in Castiel's direction. "Yes?" "Okay, nothing happened. He just, he's from Europe or something and got lost here without his visa or some crap like that and I gave him a hand yesterday evening, and then this morning he was getting out of the shower and I was asking him if he needed a lift to his embassy but there was water on the ground and he fell on me, but... that just wasn't what it seemed, okay? I..." "Dean," she smiled as she nodded, "it's alright. Also, considering how he was congratulating me earlier, I doubt that you're lying here. And he didn't seem like he was lying either. So... you said nothing happened, then nothing happened. All's forgiven. And oh my God, a themed ball. It's so romantic!" Well, Dean thought, he did owe Castiel one. "So, see you tomorrow night?" he asked, shooting her his best smile. "Of course," she answered as she kissed him again. Today wasn't going to end as bad as it started, or so it seemed. "It appears that this odd little box is controlling that magic mirror," Prince Sam said as he sat on the bed of a kind of cheap motel near the underground which was the closest to the park Crowley could find; and effectively, it did; right, Crowley knew that it was called a television and that it aired things that in this world were called movies and stuff, but... Sam changed from some movie with knights at the crusades to the news where Crowley recognized the bus driver ranting about the chipmunk (who was currently locked in a popcorn leftover box) and then it ended up on some show where a nurse was apparently arguing with an hospital intern. "Do you really have so little self-respect?" the nurse said, not looking impressed at all with the intern. "I don't need any self-respect," the intern said, "I just need your lips against mine," he kept on as he stood up to get close to the nurse. And then Sam changed channel, but what had aired had been enough to grasp Crowley's attention. "Sire! Please, get back on that one!" Crowley said, and Sam just shrugged and did. The camera was still set on the nurse. "How could I love a man who doesn't even like himself?" she asked scornfully. "You disgust me! You're nothing like Dr. Sexy!" "I can't help my feelings!" the intern shouted, and Crowley was so wound up and so recognizing himself in that poor guy (well, see, Crowley did like himself just fine, but in comparison to such a bright star as Lucifer was, how could he even begin to compare?) he didn't realize that the chipmunk had broken out of the box and was trying again to get Sam to understand Crowley's plan. "Oh, you think I'm handsome even when I sleep?" Sam asked, and as the chipmunk positively seemed to be considering suicide, Crowley took the occasion and locked him in the closet before sighing and deciding to go and end this whole mess. "Sire, I will be out for some air," he said straightening his velvet black suit before turning to Sam again. "Sire, can I ask you a question?" "Sure." "Do you like yourself?" "What's not to like?" Sam answered cheerfully, and Crowley sighed again and closed the door, wondering if killing Castiel would really make Lucifer notice him that way, or maybe accept his attentions. How stupid could someone be? Or lovesick, whatever? A lot, apparently, and Gabriel was sure that his sufferings weren't over. Goddammit, he thought as he planned his escape from the closet; that idiot didn't realize that there were a few good five inches between the closet's door and the floor. He sighed and got out of it, straight out of the window. He surely wasn't going to ask Sam for help on this. He was going to do this on his own. Surely after five years Castiel would understand him even if he couldn't talk, right? And considering that Crowley probably had Castiel's location, he set on following him. The pizza was the least he could do, really, or so that was what Dean kept telling himself as he and Castiel sat at a table in this small Italian place he knew. After all he did help him with Anna and really, what was a pizza? Nothing. Just a pizza. And the place was warm and the atmosphere comfortable and Castiel seemed to like the opera that the restaurant kindly provided, so... Castiel suddenly stopped taking small bites from his piece of mushrooms pizza and blue eyes met Dean's, deep and intent and staring and he felt himself flush. "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure thing," Dean answered as he picked up a piece of his own. "This is a... a very nice place." "Yes." "And we're having dinner." "Yes...?" "So, is this a date?" "Ye... no! No, this is just... just a friendly thing. Between friends. Yes. Also, usually people don't bring their kids on dates," Dean added as he nodded towards another table's direction where Ben was intently talking with another couple of kids. Another reason this was a cool place: if you came with kids they could just all go eating together and socialize or shit, even if Ben didn't seem too impressed with whatever the other kid was blathering about. "He's such a nice kid," Castiel murmured as he took another bite, and Dean couldn't help smiling. "Yeah. He is." "Does... does he miss his mother?" Castiel asked with the face of someone who had an idea that he wasn't asking appropriate questions. Dean sighed and suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore. "I... well, it's a difficult question. I usually don't talk about it. But... it could have been one of your dreams come true kinda stories, except that it wasn't." "What... what happened?" Dean sighed, wondering if he should refuse. Then again, he hadn't talked about Lisa with anyone in years and he hadn't talked about Cassie ever, so... maybe it could help. Who knew. "Well, he isn't... technically mine. See, me and Lisa, we were together in college while doing pre-law. She was just great and we had hit off so well, and we had been together for six months when she lost her scholarship and had to go back to her town somewhere in Indiana. I wanted to help her back then but my dad had died a couple years before and I was on a scolarship too, so... it kind of ended there. We lost contact and we didn't see each other for three years, and then one day I bump into her on the street and she had this two-months old kid on a stroller and we go to catch up and have coffee and she says that she had met this guy who fled as soon as she got pregnant. We said we should see each other again sometime, maybe she could leave the baby with her roommate, and we ended up kissing and stuff and well, we still..." "You were still in love, right?" "Yeah. She didn't want to re-start things though, I mean, she thought that she couldn't do it with a baby in the picture, but I told her it was okay and that well, that wasn't exactly the way I thought I'd have a kid but I didn't care. He was great back then too, anyway. I spent four years trying to convince her that I'd have been glad to give him my surname if she wanted, hell, I wanted it, but she always refused for some reason. But we were great together, you know? It was... it was a fucking fairytale." "What... what happened?" "She died in a car accident when Ben was four and something. At that point I... I already switched for being a divorce attorney, it brought more money in, and I was damn glad I did because otherwise it'd have been way harder. He... he remembers her, I know for sure, but talking about her hurts. Also because her family wasn't talking to her because she had a baby outside marriage and..." "That's just so wrong." "Yeah, it is. Don't you tell me. Anyway, I met Cassie a year later or so. And she was great, too. She was smart, she liked me, we hit off pretty well, we had great sex, and she sort of didn't seem to mind that I was a goddamn single father or whatever. This until after a year of dating. I asked her if she might want to move in, not even marry or stuff, and... well, she just said that I was asking too much of her and she wasn't going to be the stepmother of a kid who didn't even have my surname. That kind of... you know. It was a blow. And I fear... I just, I dunno, but sometimes he, Ben I mean, he behaves more like an adult than he should and it might be because I didn't even try to hide from him how much the world sucks, but still. I just don't want him to have a life like mine." "What would be wrong with you?" Castiel asked, momentarily forgetting his dinner. Dean could only snort. "I lost my mother when I was four, too. My dad, after that he moved around a lot and we settled somewhere just when I was twelve or so. And he, he died in another accident the year I graduated from high school. And after my mom died he really wasn't the same. It was... lonely. And he did his best, I know that, but Ben is a good kid and I might do as much as I can but I want him to have someone else beside me. And hey, I might earn good money, but it took me another two years to work the courage to propose Anna, I hate my job and even if between me and her things go fine it just... it isn't like it was with Lisa, but it's okay. I made peace with it. I just want him to know it doesn't always end well. Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear any of this." "That would be a wrong assumption, since I was the one asking you first." And then Castiel's hand which wasn't holding the piece of pizza slowly reached forward and covered Dean's free one and by all means, Dean should have put a stop to it, but that slow squeeze Castiel gave felt warm and intimate and safe and he hadn't felt like that since Lisa, and lately he could barely bring himself to remember how it was with her. "I think that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You have done great, from what I see. And who knows, never say that good things don't happen. They just might," Castiel finished before taking the hand away, and Dean suddenly felt cold. What the fuck? He didn't have time to think about it because then the waiter, who had an extremely heavy Italian accent which screamed fake to Dean, and it was strange because as far as Dean knew the only person here who was really Italian was the owner who never served the tables, came to offer Castiel a free apple martini. Castiel started refusing, saying that he really didn't accept free things, and Dean was glad that at least that stuck, but as the waiter insisted, Hell broke loose. Because a fucking chipmunk knocked the glass down and then he started to squeal on the table in front of Castiel and Dean let out half a scream because dammit, chipmunks bring diseases, but then Castiel seemed delighted or something, started calling the chipmunk Gabriel and what, he started talking about Sam and asking if he was there, and meanwhile most people were screaming and the kids' table was making even more of a mess because everyone wanted to see the chipmunk and Dean just dragged Ben to his side. He was seriously freaking out, especially because Castiel wasn't freaking out, but then the waiter picked the plate up and sent it straight into the brick oven, even if Dean was sure that the chipmunk had kind of jumped out of it before. He didn't care though, and as people called 911 and Castiel called for Gabriel and Ben looked at him silently demanding an answer, he ran out of the restaurant with them both not noticing how exactly the waiter was glaring at the chipmunk, who had ended up stuck in an empty bottle of fifty-year-old wine that was on display near the oven. As you probably all imagined, Gabriel was indeed pissed with the turn of events, but at least he had managed to steal some pizza before and well, the food in this foul place was indeed excellent. Now he just needed to find some way to avoid the disaster for the third time. Considering that he was currently stuck in a bottle, that was going to be a problem, but he had managed up to this point, he was going to manage now. Meanwhile, prince Sam had been staying in the motel room, quite enchanted with the magic mirror otherwise known as television; after finishing that Dr. Sexy show which Crowley had seemed to like so much but which, to him, didn't really say much, he had started going through the wonder that peasants would call channel surfing. Right now, though, he felt like he had to take decisions and act; after all, what kind of prince he was if he couldn't find his beloved in two days? A lousy one, that was the answer, and Sam didn't accept such a word in his vocabulary. He sprawled on the bed, deciding that American Idol was not going to be the answer to his questions. "Tell me, magic mirror, what is this place? Why is it so difficult? And will I ever find my true love again?" he asked, in real anguish, and with good reason since he had wished for one so much and having him taken away after twelve hours wasn't something he could accept. Sam, after all, just wanted his happily ever after while keeping on slaughtering monsters; certainly it wasn't too hard a wish to grant, right? And so he changed channel, ending up on the local news. "... and joining us today, is the man who was actually attacked by the insane rodent..." And then yes, suddenly, the magic box showed him... "Castiel!" Sam screamed in joy as he saw his beloved being interviewed on the screen. "Tell us, how does it feel knowing that this dangerous animal is most likely still alive?" Castiel just tilted his head at her. "Oh. I am very happy to know that. See, Gabriel is a friend of mine and..." Sam didn't really know why someone ended up dragging Castiel away, but that wasn't really the point. He was going to kill that someone shortly, anyway. The point was that he just needed a bit more of information. "Magic mirror, please, tell me, where can I find him?" "... reporting from 116th, Broadway..." "116th Broadway! Thanks, magic mirror!" Sam exclaimed, and then ran out of the motel room with a destination in mind. He was really happy for that, also because the underground passing every five minutes was being mostly annoying. Sam reached his destination in a short amount of time, but he hadn't imagined that the palace where his beloved was held prisoner would have such queer architecture; every floor was divided in two and in every half there were six apartments, and all on six floors. Sam sighed and set down straight for the first door, knocking boldly and sure; a woman with four children opened and then shook her head. "Sorry, charming. You were too late." "My apologies," Sam said sincerely as she closed the door. He wished he could help her, but he couldn't, and he set for the next door. After some strange person with a strange cat, a dog which barked so loudly that he didn't even try the door, a man who looked at him in a pretty strange way and who definitely was not as nice as Castiel was and a whole lot of other interesting characters, Sam was at the fifth floor and he couldn't help collapsing in a corner, exhausted. Castiel was probably being held prisoner on the last one, but for now he was too tired and he needed all of his strength to fight his beloved's captors. He sighed and set on waiting until morning before resuming his quest, and meanwhile he would sleep for a short while. "So wait, you knew that chipmunk?" Ben asked still looking at Castiel like he didn't know if he should believe it or not, as they stood in Ben's room waiting for Dean to get out of the bathroom. "Sure I did. He has been living with me for five years! Well, I found him by the side of the road with a broken leg back then, I took care of him and then he never really left. He always says that I should quit with all the true love business, but he really doesn't mean it. He just pretends he's above that, but he isn't. He probably also likes the nuts I get him too much to complain." "So he talks?" "Where I come from? Yes, he does. I fear he does not here, but then again this place is different from Heaven." "I don't doubt that," Dean said, getting out of the bathroom, a bathrobe still wrapped around him. "Were you talking about the chipmunk? Wait. I don't wanna know. Really." Castiel shook his head even if he did feel some weird fondness and Ben just looked at his dad like he should grow a sense of humor even if he already had one before thanking Castiel for the talk and head into the bed. Castiel wondered why did he have a black poster with ACDC written on over it, but he figured it was some of this real world's customs. "Hey, listen..." Dean asked as they reached the living room where Castiel had arranged a pillow for the sofa, "I just wanted to say, if you ever decide to stay in New York, I could give you a hand. Just so you know." Castiel nodded, feeling warm at having such kindness directed at him; but that was not an option. "Thank you, but I am pretty sure I will not. Sam is..." "Coming? Well, it doesn't seem to me like he is. Why, you think he is because the... the chipmunk told you?" "Of course. What a question." "Right, because chipmunks talk." "Well, in this world it seems like they do not, but I'm positive that he is coming." "And what if he doesn't?" "He is! Why are you just keeping on asking it?" Castiel asked standing up, feeling way, way uneasy; suddenly Dean's borrowed clothes for sleeping seemed too large and too warm and too constricting. "Because I hate to break it to you, but I see that everyday and sometimes it doesn't happen!" "Oh, so you think he isn't?" Castiel shouted at him, a strange sensation making him see red. "No!" "Is that everything you know how to say? No, no and no?" "No! ... well..." "See, it's always no! You're always saying no to yourself, too! How can you ever think that you'll accomplish something good when all you can think about is no? Oh, damn, you make me so... so angry!" he finished before suddenly bringing a hand to his lips. Anger. This was anger. This must be anger. He had never felt like this in his life. He had known only happiness and sadness, but never this. Never anger. And suddenly it felt... it felt good. "Castiel... Cas? Are you okay?" "No... I mean, yes, I'm... I'm angry, but... I'm..." And then he smiled a tiny smile, realizing that being angry felt... felt good. Different. But good. Like, a different kind of good, and it wasn't exactly right that Dean should make him like this, should make him feel things he never had, and... "... how did you call me?" "Uh, what... oh. The... the Cas bit? It... it just came. I don't know. We usually do it here when uh, you know someone, you shorten the name, it's... sort of... showing that you care on a more personal level or... something," Dean muttered, and he did look embarrassed, and way out of his element, and he was looking at Castiel with two huge, green eyes that seemed way younger than they were. "I... I think I like it. I'm... sorry. I didn't want to lash at... it's alright. I'm fine," Castiel murmured for an answer, his hand reaching for a part of Dean's shoulder which was left bare by the bathrobe, squeezing it slightly, and why did it felt like he was closer to Dean like this than... than with everyone else he thought he had been close to? He raised his head a bit, staring at Dean's slightly parted lips which let out a sigh just then, and their stare met for a second before Dean muttered something about needing to get some sleep and then ran out from the room. Without his skin under Castiel's fingertips, his hands felt cold. And oh, if only it was just that, but in that second Castiel had wanted to... He had wanted to... He shook his head, forcing himself not to think about it. He just needed some sleep and he was tired. Yes. It had to be that. And if Dean had looked at him like he maybe wanted to kiss Castiel too, well, he was going to ignore that. He just was. Dean woke up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pancakes; he got into the kitchen, still thinking about that weird moment between him and Castiel last evening, a moment which he should kind of not be thinking about, and then he couldn't help half-smiling at the sight of Castiel slowly pouring coffee into a mug while Ben was positively devouring pancakes which Dean wasn't sure he had bought recently. Hell, he hadn't gone for groceries in four days or so. "Uh, hi. You... you made breakfast?" he asked as he wrapped his bathrobe tighter around his waist (well, yes, he totally had not even changed into pajamas last night...). Castiel nodded and said something about pancakes not really being hard to cook when suddenly a completely foreign voice boomed from the living room. How did someone even get into the living room? "Castiel!" it said, or better, the male owner of that voice said, "I'm here to rescue you! Are you still here...?" And then Castiel suddenly blushed and started to straighten his made-of-curtains suit. "Oh my. Oh my goodness. It's Sam, he's here, oh, I... Dean! How... how do I look?" "What...?" "How do I look?" Castiel asked frantically, and well, what could Dean say when he was staring at him with those incredibly huge eyes, those parted pink lips, and when that suit just fit him so well? "You look great," he muttered in response, and then Castiel nodded at him with a tiny smile and flung himself into the other room; Dean nodded at Ben and they both went to stay at the entrance of the room. And... oh. Prince Sam was indeed a sight. Freakishly tall, at least six feet and something, but it was the right kind of height for someone wearing all that red and golden velvet with a damn sword on his side and looking just so... so... so much like a prince. He had picked Castiel up like he weighed nothing and they were spinning around the room risking to break something, but Dean couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight: they just looked glowing, happy, like two people in love from a goddamn fairytale, and Sam had such a charming smile, dimpled even. How could it possibly... Dean shook his head and even if he was happy for them, his living room wouldn't appreciate a fairytale hurricane sweeping through it. "Hey, uh, pal, I'm definitely happy for you, but could you... pay attention?" Sam turned towards him and uh, that was so not a friendly stare. "You were the one who kept him prisoner?" And that was how Dean found himself pressed against the wall, in his bathrobe, with a sword to his neck and thankfully Castiel was between them and Ben, at least. "I will give you some last words before I dispatch you, if you wish so." "Oh, dude, you've gotta be kidding me," Dean said shaking his head. No man should die in his bathrobe. "... strange last words, but that's your choice," Sam shrugged, ready to strike, and Dean was very, very relieved when Castiel screamed no fast enough to stop Sam from slaughtering him on the spot. "Wait, wait. There is a... misunderstanding. They helped me, they weren't... holding me prisoner," Castiel said, and Sam just looked at him and put his sword back in place. "Oh, then sorry about... that. You know. These were two very long days." "Don't you tell me," Dean muttered as he left the wall. "Anyway. Sam, this is Dean and he's Ben. And, this is Sam." Dean nodded at him and well, if Ben started rambling about how cool Sam's sword was, he wasn't going to interrupt the moment. After all, the sword... was pretty cool indeed. And if after Sam had finished the explaining to Ben he and Castiel shared a soft kiss, who was Dean to say anything? "So, this is... it, right?" Dean asked, Ben standing a bit behind him; Castiel had said goodbye to him before and now they were uncomfortably staring at each other. "Yes," Castiel answered softly. "I believe that I will ask Sam if we might go on a date before heading back to Heaven, but... we will go, yes." "Then... then the best of luck to you both," Dean said trying not to let disappointment show in his voice. "If... uh, some six months from now you feel like passing by... we could all meet and have hot chocolate in Central Park. I'm saying six months because it's winter and... it's a whole other thing when there's snow. It's... kind of awesome." "That... that would be great. And... if you ever feel like going through that drain, you could always come visit. In Heaven." "Yeah. Sure thing," Dean answered, perfectly aware that they both knew that Dean wasn't ever going to set foot in Heaven and that Castiel was never going to be back here, alone or not. "Then... then good luck, Cas. Also for the date," Dean whispered then. "Good luck to you with Anna," Castiel said, and then nodded before leaving with Sam. Dean could faintly hear Sam asking what a date was as they left, even if he thanked Dean for taking care of his beloved before they went. Dean didn't even mind being called peasant that much, considering the sword and the rest. Then he looked down and saw that Ben looked... melancholy to say the least. "Hey. What's wrong?" he asked, his hand ruffling Ben's hair. "Nothing. I just... I think I'll miss him." "Yeah. Me... me too," Dean answered, and if he felt himself choking, he just was going to ignore it. He should try to get mentally ready for the ball with Anna that night instead. Chapter 3"Crowley. Seriously. Do you think poisoned apples grow on trees? And is killing someone that complicated?" Lucifer asked from the clear vodka in Crowley's glass; he sounded merely annoyed, but his eyes? They told that he was royally angry. As he got back into his office, the last thing Dean had expected to find was Jo saying that after all Isaac and Tamara weren't divorcing anymore. "Are you sure?" he asked when he found them holding each other in front of Dean's desk. "Not that it's a problem, of course, but what made you change idea?" Isaac turned towards Tamara shooting her a glance that was pure adoration. "When she talked with that man last day... he said that her eyes shone. And that was what I thought the first time I saw her. And it got me thinking and, well, why throw away everything just for a few bumps along the road?" She nodded vigorously and snuggled closer into his side. "But, you had problems..." "Well," she answered, "everybody has, but you get on and try to face them instead of going the easy way all the time. Right?" she asked, and he gave her a peck on the lips, and Dean suddenly realized that there was a hole inside of him and that Anna wasn't going to fill it up. Ever. Then again. Happy endings? They didn't exist. Not for him. Not ever. He would settle for good. Meanwhile, Castiel was thinking that he should have asked Dean more about the whole dating business; because while explaining the concept to Sam hadn't been difficult, and Sam had seemed eager to go, Castiel couldn't come up with more than... well, a walk in Central park, a walk on a very long and nice bridge, and buying kebab. At least, Sam had found the kebab delicious, too; but when he slowly brought his arm around Castiel's waist asking whether they should go back... Castiel realized he didn't really want to go back now. Which was nonsense because until ten hours ago he didn't want anything more than being back in Heaven in order to finally marry and live his (at this point very much earned) happily ever after ending; but now, something seemed to miss, to lack, and even if Sam was still the same and Castiel still loved him with every inch of his being... Something was missing. And then he thought about the ball. Surely Sam would want to go there, right? And maybe another six hours here would make the trick and make him realize which was the problem. And maybe they'd just settle everything. And... yes, he would ask Sam to go to that ball, and as he was pretty sure of, Sam was just as nice as ever and said of course, but could they go back to Heaven then? Castiel said that of course they would, and then realized that he couldn't go to a proper ball wearing a suit made of curtains, even if it was indeed comfortable. Which was why he gave Sam an appointment and an address after they bought tickets in that stand in Central Park with what was left of the money Dean had given him, and then ran for Broadway 116th. If he was lucky, Dean wouldn't be home, but someone else would be. And Dean hadn't really realized that it didn't take much to pick his door's lock. Ben was in his room, messing around with some cds in a small bookshelf next to his bed; Castiel noticed another ACDC written on the cover of the one Ben was currently holding in his hand, and then Ben realized that Castiel was standing at the entrance of the room. "Cas!" he shouted running in his direction, and he seemed fairly happy to see him. "Hello, Ben," he answered smiling as he got down on his knee. "Uh, any particular reason why you're back?" Ben asked, and why did he seem hopeful or something? Well, Castiel would have time to ask later. "See, I... we... I will be at the ball your father and Anna will be tonight, too." Why did Ben suddenly look very smug? "And, well, I really would not wish to go with a suit made of curtains, but I don't know what I should do or wear, and I doubt that fairy godmothers..." Ben shook his head wistfully. "Dude, you don't need a fairy godmother. I know what you need," he said before running towards a drawer and taking out a small piece of plastic. "See, dad gave this to me only for emergencies. This is definitely one." Castiel did really like the glint in Ben's eyes, to a degree. "Alright. So, what do you reckon we should do?" "Oh, just let me do the work here." As they walked along a road, passing a lot of extremely elegant shops which Ben dismissed without even a look, he was very careful in trying to descern what Castiel needed, in his very humble opinion. "So, you totally need to get your hair cut. Not much, just a little. Your's a bit too long. It's kinda chick-flick. But that's for last. Then, you said the ball my dad's going to, right?" "Yes, I believe it requires certain specific clothes..." "Ticket?" Castiel nodded and handed Ben the ticket; he turned it on its back and read aloud. "For a more spicy evening, this year's theme will be the supernatural, but if you wish to come fitting the usual theme it will be accepted. Really," he said, then snorted before handing it back to Castiel. "That's fine. So let's see, supernatural, maybe... since, you remember how we met, don't..." "Oh. Yes. But... I would not wish to go as an angel. I... not really." "Not an angel?" Ben looked perplexed, like that was the only option, but then his eyes lit up. "Oh, I totally know it. You really ain't like him much, but that'd look just so cool on you." "I don't look like who?" "Dude. You're so going as John Constantine. You so are." Castiel did not understand much about this Constantine fellow if not that he was the protagonist of a supernatural comic book which Dean enjoyed a lot and Ben read without letting Dean know because Dean thought it wasn't exactly suited for eight year olds, that he wore a trench coat and that he was some kind of street detective battling between good and evil, but he had to say that the wardrobe Ben had described him had a certain appeal. And so, after a good couple of hours spent between shops which were both of the pricey kind and the extremely cheap kind, Castiel was equipped with a copy of Hellblazer from which he should copy the appearance, a new suit made of a pretty soft and good material, a new silk white shirt, new shoes and a new coat; and then Ben insisted for the hair cut. So they ended up at a barber's, along with all the bags of their purchases, and after Ben discussed the cut (Castiel was going to trust him on that), they sat waiting for Castiel's turn on a large sofa. "Man, that was cool." "Yes, I liked it." "I guess that's something like it should be when your brother brings you buying stuff or something, right?" "I... I do not know. I... I was an only child and my mother died when I was young." "Your dad?" "I never knew him. I wish I did, but... I haven't had a bad life. And I'm sure that it will get better once I get back. Now that I think about it, Sam has a brother. I have met him for just a short while, but he seemed like a nice person." "Well, seems like you'll get a brother and I'll get a stepmother." Castiel didn't really like how cynical Ben sounded, even if he was just eight years old. "Stepmothers aren't necessarily bad people. And Anna seems a sweet lady." "Yeah, but... he doesn't love her. My dad. Not really, I mean." "He says that... it isn't strictly necessary." Ben snorted again. "Yeah, he always says that. But I remember how it was with my mom and... that wasn't really nothin' like Anna. I mean, she's okay, but he, my dad I mean, I don't think he needs okay. He just, he's always kinda lonely and I know he keeps on doing things he doesn't want." Castiel nodded because well, he could only agree with Ben. That was one of the few things he was sure, regarding Dean Winchester. "You wish he would do something for himself, don't you?" "Yeah, but he just won't. That isn't in him, I think." "No, it isn't," Castiel agreed, and then someone called him to have his hair cut. He couldn't know about what was currently happening at the site of the sewer drain. The cover of the sewer drain suddenly leaped into the sky with a loud bang; enough to make passer-bys stop and look at what was going on. Most people thought about someone shooting a movie, because otherwise why would slightly red smoke surface out of a sewer? Ten seconds later, a man slowly emerged from the round hole, not like he was hoisting himself up but like he was levitating; and he was a good looking young man, dressed in jeans and a flannel, with short blond hair, intense blue eyes and a downright devilish smile. He took a look around, satisfied with not having gathered much attention, and then sensed Crowley near as they had previously agreed. Damn, doing things by yourself always ends up to be the smart method. "And Mr. C. is on the line for us! Mr. C. has been having troubles with his beloved one who is acting distant; would you mind telling us what exactly?" a kind female voice said from the radio in the taxi Crowley was pretending to drive; he sighed into his mobile. "Well, I... I always treated the person I love like a ki... queen, putting her before anything else, but lately he... she just seems so distant, it's like I don't even know her anymore!" Because well, he knew that Lucifer had a tendency towards being kind of evil, but not to the point of killing someone like that. "I think that you should set her aside and calmly try to see how she really feels about you," the radio speaker calmly said, and Crowley nodded; exactly then, someone knocked on the window of the passenger seat before opening the door. A second later, Lucifer was sitting next to him. "Hello, worthless. Missed me? Come on. They're at the Woolworth Building." Well. If that didn't tell something... Meanwhile, Gabriel squealed from the plastic ball in the backseat in which Crowley had trapped him. He was not pleased at all. Dean thought that, sincerely, that evening's theme sucked ass, but at least it was easy to find clothes for; supernatural, seriously, but he still had an old leather jacket which belonged to his dad and a lot of the flannels he used to wear some six years ago when he still wasn't obliged to wear suits only. Along with some leather boots of his dad's, too, and a fake gun, he could say he was someone who hunted supernatural creatures; there was a midnight show on some lame channel where supernatural hunters went around dressed like that, so it wasn't really hard. Anna had come as an angel and well, wasn't that appropriate? She was all dressed in white, soft silk draping over her slender body and fitting like a glove. With her pale skin and long, red hair falling over her shoulders, along with small, fake wings on her back, she positively seemed to glow. She was so beautiful, and everything he might have needed in another life. They made a strange couple as they danced, as she was so pretty and ethereal and graceful, while he wore torn jeans, used up flannels and a battered jacket; but hey, there were people dressed as devils with horns dancing with women dressed as Death from the damned Sandman comic books. They hardly were the most noticeable. And then as one lame-ish waltz ended, he raised his eyes and saw that two other people were at the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom; one was Sam, which hadn't exactly dressed up, but he could pass for some weird vampire or something and anyway, for any normal person it'd have seemed a costume, not to mention that you were allowed to wear 19th century clothing anyway. And the other was Castiel, who was dressed like fucking John Constantine (aka Dean's favorite comic book character ever, and maybe it was just a coincidence); he had a dark blue suit, a silk white shirt and a tan trench coat which he removed and passed to Sam, who gave it to whoever was in charge of the wardrobe. His eyes suddenly met Castiel's and there was a warm look there, and a soft smile, and Dean found himself half-smiling back, and thankfully it was gone before Anna noticed them both and Dean looking at them. "Oh. What is your friend doing here?" she asked, and Dean shook his head. "The hell if I know," he answered as they came closer to the stairs. "I see that you're here too," Dean said when they were face to face. "You said you couldn't dance," Castiel answered deadpan. "I said I didn't. I never said I couldn't. Oh, anyway... we should, uh, introduce?" "Oh. Yes." Castiel looked at Anna, then at Sam. "He is Sam. He's my... my... prince," he finally settled on. "And this is Anna. She's my..." Dean started, realizing he didn't know how to finish. Girlfriend? They were a bit past that stage. Fiancé? He still hadn't proposed... "We're together," Anna finished gracefully for him, turning to smile at Sam, who in turn very gallantly took her hand and brought it to his lips without kissing it. "And this beautiful creature," Sam said then, "is Castiel. My true love, and the only desire of my heart," he finished with such conviction that Dean could only understand why Castiel would be with him. After all, Sam was just everything someone could wish for. Why would... "Oh," Anna said then, staring at Sam. "Wow. The way you said that. Just, so straightforward. Not a hint of irony. That's... that's very romantic," she ended. "Well, thank you," Sam said then, always without a single hint of irony. And then the moment was broken by someone who went on the stage where the small orchestra was playing. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is that time of the night! Now, I would like all you gentlemen to invite a lady which you did not accompany this evening, to dance... a sort of twist on the usual waltz. Today is a special evening, after all." And then Sam turned towards Anna, giving her an extremely sweet smile and holding out his hand. "May I have the pleasure?" he asked, and Anna blushed and looked at Dean who was maybe too quick to nod. Then she took Sam's hand and they went. And it left Dean with Castiel. "So. That's... me and you, huh? Shall... shall we?" Dean asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious and not really up for this. And then Castiel smiled that tiny smile at him and took his hand. Dean held it, feeling it warm and fitting like a glove against his, and then opted for one of the corners of the room. He felt like it was going to be... more intimate maybe. He didn't really know. And then he realized that the song they were playing was definitely not a waltz. It was a version for strings of Led Zeppelin's What Is And What Should Never Be and... well, if Dean's last three minutes with Castiel had to be set to some kind of music, then if it was his favorite group he wasn't going to complain, even if strings positively killed the song and the singer was nothing like good old Robert Plant. Castiel didn't know why Dean suddenly seemed way more at ease as the song started, but he just figured that he knew it himself; sincerely, it wasn't the point. And if I say to you tomorrow, take my hand, child, come with me It's to a castle I will take you, where what's to be, they say will be The point was that Dean's body was just such a perfect fit against his, the right height and everything, and his hands held him with such care, like he was scared he was going to break if he was a little bit more forceful, and as they moved slowly, he couldn't help feeling content. Content like he had never felt his whole life. He rested his head on Dean's shoulder, one hand still held in Dean's and the other on the opposite shoulder. And then he felt himself being brought closer and his eyes met Dean's for the second real time that evening. Catch the wind, see us spin, sail away, leave today, way up high in the sky But the wind won't blow, you really shouldn't go, it only goes to show That you will be mine, by takin' our time And it was all in that look. That was when Castiel understood it. Dean was looking at him like he wasn't really deserving to be there and like the only thing he wanted to do was closing the distance between them and kiss him; and all Castiel wanted was for Dean to kiss him and tell him that of course he deserved anything good that might come his way, and in that moment they both knew that they had the next three minutes or so and then no more (they would never have that chocolate in Central Park Dean told him about, he fleetingly thought); he nodded shortly and it was like flipping a switch and light flooding a previously dark room. Dean started moving more confidently, still not moving from their corner but faster, surer, and Castiel could only follow and let himself being led and spun around once in a while. And if you say to me tomorrow, oh what fun it all would be Then what's to stop us, pretty baby, but what is and what should never be And it felt just perfect. The way Dean was careful but not reluctant, how they fit against each other, how great it felt to rest his head on Dean's shoulder for a second before taking his hand again and moving away and then being brought back to the circle of Dean's arms. He wished he could tell Dean that he should really dance, it made no sense that he wouldn't, but he didn't want to speak because speaking would have meant losing time. So if you wake up with the sunrise, and all your dreams are still as new... "And happiness is what you need so bad, girl, the answer lies with you..." he suddenly heard Dean singing softly without probably even realizing it, and it was like a stab to his heart; and well, Dean might not sing but he didn't have a bad voice, at all, and he wished he could say it but a lump formed in his throat and so he just gripped Dean's waist tighter and kept on dancing. He'd have done it until his feet hurt, but then everyone swapped partners and he hoped his face didn't betray his emotions as his hand left Dean's and grabbed Sam's and they headed for the stairs. He didn't dare looking behind as he felt his heart shatter. Maybe Dean was right. And maybe there were no happy endings for anyone, after all. "I'll get your coat," Sam said, and Castiel smiled at him as he nodded, hoping that he didn't realize that something was wrong; and then as he looked down from the rail at Dean and Anna dancing perfectly timed but with a lot less passion than what had been between him and Dean he realized how epically wrong this all was. He didn't wish for Sam something like this because he still was nice, great, beautiful and deserving of someone who could love him fully and without reservation, and Castiel... Castiel just wasn't that person anymore, he realized, and he was about to panic, he really was, when... "Oh my, I really made a mess, didn't I?" He turned and right, next to him there stood Sam's stepbrother. Or... "You sent me here!" Castiel hissed. "Oh, no, no! I'm really glad to see you, and really, I should have told you that you shouldn't have looked too much over the border of the well. It was all my fault and now I see that... that things aren't like before, are they?" Lucifer asked, with a soft and compassionate voice, and Castiel could only nod. "Oh my, what did I do. This would hijack everything and you would disappoint pretty much everyone if Sam or your friend's girl ever found out, unless... I might have a remedy for you." "You might...?" Lucifer smiled sympathetically and brought up a hand holding a red, shiny apple. "A bite of this, and you'll forget everything that happened here. No more pain, no more real world, no more Dean. What about it?" Castiel took the apple with a trembling hand; forgetting Dean seemed such a horrible thing, it meant forgetting true love, it meant forgetting the best forty eight hours of his life, but... Lucifer was right. He had duties and he couldn't just disappoint everyone like this. He couldn't. He raised the apple to his lips and took a bite. Everything went black. The apple rolled down the stairs as Castiel's knees gave out and he fell to the ground, pale as a ghost dead to the world; finally, Lucifer thought. He had always known he should have gone himself. He sighed, pulling Castiel over his shoulder and heading for the elevator. He just needed for midnight to strike and for Castiel to be in a place where no one was going to find him, and then the problem would have been dealt with. The elevator's doors were almost closed as he let Castiel fall sitting into the corner; but then a sword placed in between and the doors opened again. "Brother?" Sam asked, sword in hand, definitely not expecting him to be there. Figures. "Sam!" "What are you doing here? And..." Sam's eyes trailed to the floor of the elevator. Oops. "Oh, yes," Lucifer said, "he wasn't feeling too well, but it's definitely nothing, I thought I could help by bringing him out for fresh air... Sam!" Damn, he thought as Sam pushed him out of the way and gathered that danger to his throne in his arms, someone should have taught Sam some respect. "Someone help me, please!" Sam shouted as he moved Castiel out of the way. "Oh, you're overreacting, really..." "Someone help!" And Dean definitely heard him. "Anna, call 911," Dean said as he ran up the stairs taking two at a time, handing her his cellphone; in a second, he was at Sam's side as he laid Castiel out on a sofa, and damn, why did he look so pale? He looked almost like he was dead. He wasn't even breathing. "What happened?" he asked to Sam, who just shrugged, evidently without answer. "911?" Anna said into the phone, "yes, at the Woolworth Building. We have a man, he's unconscious, but I don't know what's going on with him." "Oh, nothing," the blond guy whom Dean gathered was Sam's brother from what he had heard earlier, "he just fainted! He'll be up in..." "No, he didn't," someone else said, and Dean and Sam turned in the same direction at the same time; the direction was the other elevator and a man who was a foot and something shorter than Dean, wearing a very smart black suit and dangerously similar to the German guy of the park and the Italian waiter of the restaurant came forward, and at his tone Dean felt his heart stop. "Crowley?" Sam asked, so he obviously knew him. "Crowley, get back to the car now or..." Lucifer stared, but Crowley shook his head. "No, I will bloody well not go back to the car. And I can't stand this anymore. You poisoned him," he said, and Dean's blood went cold. "I did not..." Lucifer started, obviously offended, but Sam stood up and raised a hand. "Crowley, what did you just say?" "He's behind this, that's what I just said. He was the one pushing him into the well and he poisoned him with that apple which fell down the stairs... with my help, I indeed regret to say." "He's lying," Lucifer hissed, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Anyway, why would I even bother? I mean, you know..." "Silence!" Sam shouted, and Dean realized that he was starting to find a new appreciation for Castiel's boyfriend. "You... you lying, murderous devil! Be sure that as soon as we get back to Heaven everyone will know about your treachery. And your days reigning? They-will-be-over. You bet on that." "Don't you think that taking my crown would be a bit melodramatic?" "I don't really know what melodramatic means, but I'll definitely see to it, Lucifer. We're done," he finished before kneeling down on the other side of the sofa where Castiel was lying. Dean raised his eyes and saw that Lucifer was smirking and some smoke was starting to come out of the elevator's doors, and dammit that was so not good, but suddenly the Crowley person grabbed Sam's discarded sword and pointed it at Lucifer's throat. The smoke suddenly vanished. "No. That's not time for tricks anymore," Crowley hissed. "We need to help him," Sam said, looking at Castiel who was still on the sofa with his eyes closed and hadn't moved an inch, or even took a breath. "What do we do?" Dean asked in Crowley's direction. "Nothing. He's done for, I'm sorry to say. Or at least, if you two don't find a way to wake him up before midnight, then he's gone forever." Lucifer looked very, very pleased and Dean would have punched the bastard; he didn't just because he figured that Sam would want to do it later. Family matters have to be solved in the family. Sam seemed at a loss and Dean was too and they just couldn't let... And then he got it. How could he have not thought about it sooner? "Hey. Sam. Dude." "Yes?" "True love's kiss." "What?" "True love's kiss. The most powerful thing in the world, or so he told me once?" Sam's eyes lit up in joy as he nodded and said that he just didn't know how he didn't think about it sooner; Dean just shook his head and moved away, letting Sam kneel on the right side of the sofa. Lucifer was looking at him with something like hatred, but if it saved Cas? Dean didn't care. He just wanted Cas to wake up and then ride into the sunset with Sam and have his happily ever after, and if he had a small role in helping him accomplish it... then he was going to be fine. And then Sam leaned down and kissed Castiel chastely. And nothing happened. Sam raised an eyebrow and kissed him again, with a bit more force this time. Nothing. And nothing. And nothing. And Dean wanted to curse and break something because then he looked at the clock and it was just a minute to midnight and obviously it was not working and it was impossible, dammit! If this really was a fucking fairytale and not the real world (and how much he regretted that it was, right then?), it should have worked, dammit, and it was obvious that Cas and Sam were made for each other and... "It seems like you aren't going to save him now," Lucifer said, sounding incredibly smug. And Dean was just about to go punching him after all, but then Sam turned and looked at Dean for one second, and then at Castiel, and then at Dean again. "Unless..." Sam said, and kept on staring. Dean looked back. And Sam fucking smiled at him with the face of someone who really can't be jealous or angry or any possible nasty thing that someone can be when they realize that the person they love might not like them back and stood up. "Oh, no," Dean started. "No, no, no, no. You aren't saying that. It can't be me. It absolutely can't be me. Don't even..." "Oh yes," Sam said coming towards him, taking his arm and dragging him towards the couch, "after all it just makes sense that he wouldn't want to leave, doesn't it? Come on, he's obviously..." "It's not possible, I..." "Dean!" Anna said then, and he turned in her direction. "Kiss him. It's fine," she kept on, looking fairly resigned but okay with it, and Dean felt bad for her in that moment, he really did, but... It was just thirty seconds until midnight, and he couldn't just not do it if there was even a slight chance that it could be true. He really didn't think it was; someone as wonderful and unique and great and special as Cas couldn't really have done something so horrible to deserve getting him for a soulmate or whatever crap it was, because sure as hell Dean was everything Castiel didn't need and anyway good things did not happen to him, but still... still... "Cas, don't you dare leaving me now," he whispered so low that probably he only heard it himself before bending his head down and closing the distance between them. He kissed Cas' cold, unresponsive lips, and didn't it feel wrong to do it like this, as the clock stroke midnight with the entire ballroom watching them and his girlfriend watching them and Cas' prince watching them and he didn't give a damn. He didn't give a damn as long as that fucking fairytale device worked and that they weren't too late. And that he wasn't too late, because he was never going to forgive himself if that was the case. For a single, dreadful moment nothing changed. Dean felt like crying, Sam looked devastated, Crowley looked guilty and Anna sympathetic, and then Cas took a breath and opened his eyes and came back to life right there in Dean's arms and those two blue eyes were staring up at him again and he was alive and Dean felt like crying for completely different reasons, manly pride be damned, and... "I knew it was you," Cas said then, his smile not exactly tiny anymore, and his hand reached up to cup Dean's cheek and that was it, he couldn't just hold back; he brought Cas forward and crushed their lips together, not giving a single fucking damn, and when Cas threw his arms behind his neck and pulled him closer Dean did the same and like hell he was going to let go now; he didn't see Sam's relieved if not just sightly resigned smile, Anna's shrug, Crowley's relief and Lucifer's scowl; he heard the rest of the room clapping and cheering, but not the two old ladies downstairs who sniffed saying that this was so much better that last year's show. Clearly, it couldn't last. Lucifer threw Crowley off him and Dean could only stand up and put Cas behind him on instinct as he heard a sound like crackling fire; suddenly Lucifer had a whole other aura. He still was a good looking man dressed in jeans and a flannel, but red smoke raised up around him and his smile was pure evil, not to mention that he could feel energy radiate from his body. This so didn't look good. "You know what?" he asked, his voice grave and threatening, "all this talk of true love's kiss made me sick. It's nauseating. And it does bring out the worst in me. Also, when I go back I will need a story. What if some very evil villain showed up, killed everyone and I couldn't save them, poor and defenseless? What do you say about it? And I'd say we could begin with that person who started it all." A branch of smoke moved towards Cas and well, no. Dean wasn't going to allow that. "Over my dead body," he hissed, and he was absolutely convinced of it; but Lucifer merely shrugged and the smoke suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Alright. I'm flexible," Lucifer said and shrugged, and then a second later they weren't in there anymore but on top of the fucking building and Dean couldn't move and the only thing holding him up was the smoke. Lucifer's smile was still evil. And Dean had never fucking stepped on a plane in his whole life because flying made him want to throw up. Well, didn't this just beat it? "No," Castiel whispered as everyone else ran out of the room; Lucifer had torn out half of the ceiling after he disappeared, probably just for making a scene or something, but that was not going to mean anything. Everyone else could run, but he wasn't going to let Dean, his true love, die like that. And if he wasn't the hero of the story, well, he was going to be flexible, too. His eyes were determined as he shed his coat and jacket and tie; then he ran forward and grabbed Sam's sword from the floor, where it had been discarded when Lucifer had pushed Crowley away. He closed his hand around the hilt and ran out of the hole in the ceiling, hoisting himself up and out on the skyscraper's roof; and yes, Dean was up there, with Lucifer holding him up by that lousy, tiny thread of smoke. And Dean looked like he couldn't fucking move. He took a breath and climbed up. "Oh, what a twist!" Lucifer laughed, and Castiel could hear him all the way down. "So now it's not the prince anymore? I guess this makes you the damsel in distress, Dean, doesn't it?" "You son of a bitch, don't..." "Don't worry, I'll kill you quickly. I don't have a grudge with you, after all." And that was really making Castiel see red. Anger suited him well right now. "Lucifer, I'm not going to let you take him!" Castiel shouted as he climbed higher, trying to dodge other branches of smoke coming his way and threatening to make him fall. He was not going to. Gabriel had really to be thankful for Crowley's idiocy, or lovesickness, or whatever. Because he had left the damned car open when he went after Lucifer, and so Gabriel, being in a sphere, had managed to roll down from the backseat; he had to get out, damn, he had seen everything and Castiel was in serious danger, except that he couldn't fucking get out and... He rolled right in front of Sam's feet. Crowley was standing next to him and another girl was on Sam's other side, covering herself with Sam's cloak; Sam knelt down and picked the sphere up, and as it started to rain, Gabriel cursed in his head because seriously, why did it always have to rain, and tried to freaking communicate with Sam again. Blasted world in which he couldn't speak. And then Sam started talking as Gabriel tried to make him get it with gestures even. "You wish to be finally released and help Castiel kill Lucifer?" he asked, and Gabriel nodded eagerly. Finally! "You could have said it before," Sam said as he opened the sphere, and Gabriel resisted the urge to bang his head against the plastic and opted to get out and up on the roof instead. Castiel managed to climb higher, but as rain started to fall down and got him drenched again, he realized that he needed a plan; if he got too close Lucifer could let Dean fall down and he was in no position to help there, and if Lucifer managed to use that smoke of his to push him down as soon as he was near enough... Suddenly he heard a very familiar squeal next to him. "Gabriel?" he whispered and yes, there he was! Castiel could have screamed in joy but Gabriel just stared at him and gave him a couple of telegraphic instructions because he had a plan, apparently, and it was a good one, too; Castiel nodded and instead of climbing he set on moving to his right, closer to where Dean was being held up. "So what, Castiel, are you giving up? This is not happily ever after, you know? Well, maybe for me it wi..." He never finished the sentence because Gabriel launched at him from his right and scratched Lucifer right over his eyes, making him momentarily unable to see. "What, my eyes...!" he screamed, but that had been enough of a distraction; the smoke disappeared and Dean fell down with a scream, but Castiel threw the sword as soon as he was at the right distance and it went through the cuff of Dean's flannel, effectively pinning him to the steel bar behind him. Well, Sam had a good sword which could cut steel, too. And then Gabriel slashed over Lucifer's eyes again before running off on the other side of the roof; Lucifer found himself without balance and temporarily blind and it took a slight wrong move from him to fall down the building, under the still pouring rain. As a thunder roared, he disappeared in a huge flame before he even hit the ground. Castiel didn't have time to breathe in relief though; Dean screamed again and Castiel saw at once that the fabric was going to rip soon. Damn. "Dean, hold on!" Dean just barely nodded before gravity did the rest and the rest of the cuff's cloth completely ripped; he managed to grab the steel bar he had been hanging from with one hand and then the other, but it was slippery and it was still raining and even if Gabriel had run along the bar and was trying to help him to hold on (hey, he was a fucking chipmunk), he really couldn't do much for long; after twenty seconds, he just couldn't anymore and all Castiel could do was runrunrun and as Dean fell down he took a last leap forwards which was enough to catch him in his arms and break his fall, but not to break their fall. The impact sent them both tumbling down the roof, downdowndown, and Castiel just threw an arm around Dean's shoulders and held on for dear life; at least, he thought, if he had to die at least he'd die in Dean's arms. It could have been worse. He could have died because of that apple, for instance. As they kept on tumbling down they both let out another scream until they saw the edge (and after the edge? A good three hundred feet of free fall) but Dean put his legs forward and as his heels met it they came to an abrupt stop. Castiel let out a breath of relief he hadn't known he had been holding and could hear Dean do the same; and then he turned his head towards Dean on his right and held up his hand, cupping a wet cheek, the rain still pouring down and drenching them both. Oddly enough he was barely feeling it. "Is... is this a habit of yours? Falling off buildings?" he asked, realizing he was breathless and happy and warm despite the freezing water. "Damn, no. I suffer from fucking vertigo. I do that... only... only when you're around to catch me," Dean answered, raising a hand to Castiel's neck, his thumb caressing its hollow slowly, his eyes literally shining as he shook his head like he couldn't really believe he said it. "Jesus. Cas, this is... I mean... are you sure that you wanna be stuck with me?" Castiel just gave him a firm nod. "But... I mean... I'm not anything like him. Sam, I mean... he's... he's the goddamn prince charming you'd deserve, not some guy from a weird place where happily ever after doesn't exist and who hasn't been able to hold on to two good things in his life at once." Castiel made a mental note to spend the rest of his days trying to teach Dean the value of something called self-esteem until he got it, and then he brought his head a bit closer. "He might be the... goddamn prince charming, actually he is, but... it definitely seems like he isn't my true love. I will have to deal," he finished, and then his heart lost a couple of beats when Dean's lips curled up in a smile that was pure joy and the hand behind his neck brought him forward and another one behind his waist actually brought him over Dean's lap and then they were kissing, without anyone watching, without anything else going on, without Castiel himself being dead, and it was so perfect that for a second Castiel thought he might die of happiness or something. Dean's lips were soft and and warm against his and his hands were still cradling him like he was made of fine porcelain, and Dean's tongue was hot and wet inside his mouth as it mapped every single inch; Castiel moaned helplessly as Dean's lips moved against his still, as Dean poured everything into that single kiss, and if this wasn't true love, then Castiel didn't know what it was. When it was over they were both breathless and smiling and they couldn't just let go; and if they were still on the roof, well they'd have plenty of time to get off it later. "Dean?" Castiel whispered against Dean's lips. "Yeah?" "Don't tell me that you still don't believe that happily ever afters do exist. Or that good things do happen." "I... I think that now I do. And I owe you hot chocolate in six months or so," Dean said, his voice choked with something Castiel couldn't name, but it didn't matter and so he kissed Dean again. Figures, Anna thought; she had come back for her coat and purse and had ended up sitting on the floor a bit far from the hole in the ceiling, her white dress spread in a circle around her, her hair still wet even if since Sam had lent her his cloak before she hadn't got too drenched. But she hadn't brought a jacket down and so now she was shivering and sitting in the middle of an empty ballroom with a hole in the ceiling and Castiel's coat and jacket and tie watching her mockingly from the floor. It wasn't that she was angry, after all it was clear that Dean loved that man a thousand times more than he'd ever love her in all of their lifetimes, but still, it sort of hurt. Anna Milton, you're pathetic, she thought, because it was pathetic, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She sighed, bringing a hand to her eyes, trying to stop the sting behind her eyelids, when she suddenly felt a soft rustling noise in front of her and, oh. There was Sam, still in prince charming getup and not looking nearly half as devastated as he should have been and giving her a soft smile which was all sympathy, warmth and understanding. "Why so sad, beautiful lady?" he asked with a low, considerate tone, and she really couldn't be angry. Not when he was talking to her like that. "He... he forgot his clothes," she said, nodding at the coat and jacket. "Just, it figures. And now, I mean, he and Dean, they will... well, you know, and I'm absolutely fine with it, I really am, but..." Suddenly a gloved hand was in front of her as Sam stood up; she took it, not really thinking about it, and he pulled her up with him gently before taking Castiel's coat from the ground and brushing the dust off. And then he went at her side holding it open. "May I?" he asked with that gentle, warm voice again and she nodded, her breath caught in her throat. He pulled the coat around her left arm first and the right next and when she pulled it close around her waist she realized that... "It's a perfect fit," Sam said, and his voice was a promise and when she raised her eyes, she realized that his stare was too; and Sam's smile was just so sweet and sincere, and he looked at her in the way every woman would wish her prince charming to look at her, and he still had his hand held out. And well, Anna didn't really have any family since she was an only child and her parents had died of old age a couple of years before, she didn't particularly like her job and to be honest, she had liked Dean, a lot, but from there to being her very own prince charming? She had never asked that of him, really. Everything she could think as she looked at Sam was yes, and so she smiled and nodded at him, suddenly feeling lighter, and if they ran until the infamous drain holding hands, who was there to say anything? (Except for Chuck, who had the night shift, and saw everything.) The cover was still missing, since Lucifer had sent the old one in some other galaxy or something; Sam held out his hands to Anna, she took them and they both jumped down. (Chuck saw that, too; he definitely wrote a book about it. The book became a bestseller and he got married to his, as she referred to herself as, number one fan. He always thanked Sam in his mind for the good advice back then.) Sam and Anna got married the next day and Sam became the rightful heir to the throne; he had thought he would have to give up hunting monsters except for one weekend once in a while, but it ended differently. Because you see, Anna was the sweetest girl and after their wedding (when she had been the one to kiss him first, and he hadn't minded at all) they talked and went on dates in Heaven and realized that they had a lot in common; when he mentioned his previous hobby, she said that hunting monsters seemed incredibly exciting and so, while they couldn't do that every day because they still had to rule the country, they did it every weekend and they were perfectly happy like this. After a tearful goodbye (on Castiel's part), Gabriel stole a bag of Hershey's hugs before going back to Heaven, because he liked to be capable of speech, thank you, even if once in a while he came back to New York to visit Castiel and grab a couple of bags of candy that his human friend kept for him. But when he was back in Heaven he realized that without Castiel their old small house was boring and so to kill the time he wrote a book which he called Silence Isn't Golden for obvious reasons, and it was a bestseller in all of Heaven, and he organized signings and so he really couldn't complain. Even if damn, the food in New York was still better than the food in Heaven. Crowley didn't go back to Heaven, it would bring too many bad memories and after sauntering so much downwards he decided that he wanted a fresh start. And since it seems like writing books was the next best thing, he wrote one too (he called it My Evil Pain: How To Vanish The Devil Within) and it was a smashing bestseller, too. He often was in bookshops signing copies of it and one day things changed for the better. He arrived at the last person and had opened the book without looking at them. "To whom I should dedicate it?" "Aziraphale, please," the man in front of him answered, and Crowley thought it was a bizarre name and so he had a look; and this Aziraphale was more or less his height, more or less his age but with blond hair and blue eyes and glasses and looked definitely anything but menacing. And he blushed as Crowley met his stare and said something about his book really changing his life, and then Crowley couldn't resist. "Would you like to talk about it... at dinner, let's say now?" he asked, and Aziraphale said yes. Dean quit his job the day after the ball and as he got out of the office he threw his tie out of the window gaining a thumbs-up from Jo; Ben actually raised a fist in the air when he heard the news and Castiel tilted his head until Dean told him what he had done exactly, and that evening they all had Chinese to celebrate. Right, Dean and Castiel didn't stop at Chinese, but we're back into the PG13 rated zone, so... er, sorry about that, really. Complain to whoever decided that fairytales shouldn't include hot sex described in detail. Anyway, the day after Dean quit his job he put on his jeans and a flannel, took his CV with him and went into a studio specialized in mass actions and civil trials and they were more than happy to hire him, seeing his credentials; sometimes in the evenings he did manage to do also some work for free for a charity which had the studio among his sponsors. Castiel went with him the day he talked to the charity manager, he talked to him, too, and he ended up having his own counselling job because he was surprisingly emphatic and just understood people, and if he didn't have exactly the right qualifications no one said anything. Also, his job left him with a lot of free time which was just peachy because they still had a kid to take care of, but doing it in two was way easier than when Dean had been single, and anyway Ben and Castiel were absolutely fond of each other and sincerely, who cares about mothers. They weren't strictly necessary anyway. Castiel kept the house clean and if Dean had to stand opera in the morning, it was just a necessary evil; and with time he kind of even learned to like it, even if he'd have never admitted it. And things with Castiel were just easy and uncomplicated and when they were together it just felt like everything fell into place; they made each other ridiculously happy every goddamn fucking day and Dean couldn't really start to imagine what he had done right to deserve it, but in the end, one day he realized he didn't even care about that anymore and he just let himself have it, and that day Castiel rejoiced internally. Ben never told the both of them that when he had swayed Castiel towards dressing as Constantine that night at the ball he had totally done it on purpose because he had been hoping for that same outcome, but it wasn't like it mattered, right? And, as you can see, they all lived happily ever after. And what the fuck, they had all earned it, hadn't they? (And sorry for all the swearing, but when you need it, you need it.) The end. | |
|
We do not claim to own any of the stories listed on this site. All plots belong to the authors and all characters belong to their respective creators. For more disclaims and credits please visit this page here. | |
  News Newly Added Fics Updated WIPs
|
 A |
B |
C D |
E |
F G |
H |
I J |
K |
L M |
N |
O P |
Q |
R S |
T |
U V |
W |
X Y |
Z |
# |
 All Authors A |
B |
C D |
E |
F G |
H |
I J |
K |
L M |
N |
O P |
Q |
R S |
T |
U V |
W |
X Y |
Z |
# |
 RSF Awards LJ Community Bunny Hutch FAQ Mailing List Affiliates About Us Link Back Helpful Links Disclaimers And Credits |
