Spn: Mistakes We Make 04
Summary: All-human AU. From the ages of 10 - 15, Dean and Castiel were inseparable. Then Dean's dad died, and rather than lose his brother to CPS, Dean took him and ran. Years later, Castiel's big brother Gabriel finds Dean working as a prostitute, and decides to try and help him - but does Dean want to be saved?
Chapter Rating: M for adult themes
-MWM-
Despite his misgivings, Crowley was as good as his word. The motel chosen for them was close to the school, so Sammy could walk easily, and not too far from the main brothel Dean was working at. Several of the girls had immediately decided that he was ‘adorable’, and had taken him under their wings. As a result, he already knew the best shops to go to, the best days to go to various diners for their specials, and to keep out of Crowley’s line of sight as much as possible.
Danni, one of the girls, was sitting on the bed while Dean vacuumed the floor.
“If you hold up your end of the deal, Crowley’s a great boss. He sees us all as his investments, and doesn’t like it if a customer threatens us. He’d rather lose one customer than have one of us put out of commission. But if you cross him, he won’t stop coming after you until you’re so firmly under his thumb that you can’t escape. Basically, he owns you. Be glad that he hates paedophiles, or you’d be working on your back.”
“What about when I turn eighteen?” Dean asked, suddenly nervous. Danni shrugged.
“Depends. If you’re doing well for him in your current position, he’ll probably keep you. It’s actually harder to keep cleaners and maintenance than it is to keep girls and boys. Or maybe he’ll promote you to a bouncer, you look like you’re gonna bulk up in a few years. Then again, by that time you might want to work the sheets.”
Dean had considered it, and tried to take her advice as much as possible. Unfortunately, keeping out of Crowley’s sight was near impossible, since one of the stipulations of paying for Sam’s schooling was that the younger boy meet with him once a month to discuss his grades. Dean wasn’t about to leave Sammy alone with someone they didn’t really know, so he always attended the meeting as well.
Crowley didn’t seem to mind. He also seemed to ignore any attitude that Dean gave him when it pertained to Sammy’s wellbeing. The man was impossible to figure out.
For some reason, Sam had taken an instant dislike to Crowley. He kept his answers as short and to the point as possible, glaring sullenly now and then. Dean couldn’t work it out, though Crowley didn’t seem to pay any attention to it, but it was one reason Dean wouldn’t leave the two alone together - Sammy could be a mouthy little brat when he wanted to be, and though Crowley had been fair to them so far, there was no telling what could happen if he lost his temper at them.
They’d kept this up for several months, when Christmas came around. Dean was awoken by a knock on the door. Before he could react, Sammy had pulled it open, then shrieked in delight.
“Dean! Look! A puppy!”
“What?” Dean stumbled out of bed, highly confused.
He looked down, seeing Sam crouched next to a box which, indeed, contained a puppy. Next to the box were a puppy bed, food dish, water dish, and a large pack of puppy food. The puppy already had a collar on, with a tag reading ‘Property of Sammy Winchester’.
“Dean, you got me a puppy for Christmas!”
“No I didn’t,” Dean answered blearily.
“But who did then?” Sam had already opened the box and picked up the puppy, which was trying to lick his face off. This caused peals of laughter from the boy.
Dean then spotted the card and picked it up, suddenly remembering a conversation he’d had with Crowley several weeks ago.
“So, any plans for Christmas?”
“A couple of the off-duty girls have invited us around for dinner. They’re gonna love Sammy.”
“I’ll bet. Look, I might need you to work a few nights coming up soon. How do you feel about leaving Sam by himself?”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Maybe you should get a dog. Something big to protect him.”
“I would if I could. But the motel doesn’t allow pets, and I couldn’t afford one anyway.”
He’d thought that was the end of it. But no, here was a puppy, and the card confirmed it was from Crowley, apparently as a reward for Sam getting straight As. Dean shook his head, though he was grinning slightly. Yes, he was an investment to Crowley - but it came with perks, so he wasn’t going to turn it down.
“Right, Crowley gave it to you. And he’s told the motel owners to let you keep it. So, what are you gonna call it?”
“Um… I dunno! What sort of puppy is he?”
Dean again scanned the card, then closed his eyes and groaned.
“Rottweiler.”
“Awesome!”
-MWM-
Things settled down into a routine for the brothers fairly quickly after that. For reasons unknown to Dean, the puppy was christened Bobby. Sam took care of him mostly, feeding him and taking him for walks. The two of them were doing their best to house-train him as well, which was slow going but improving. Sam made friends in school again, and was usually near the top of the class. He got involved in soccer, loving to run around with the other boys, which Dean encouraged. He attended as many of Sam’s games as he could, which was quite a few.
Their birthdays came and went, both with just a small celebration between the two of them. Dean was proud of the way Sammy was handling their new life, and told him as much. Sam blushed and hid behind his dinner, earning a laugh.
When summer came around, Sam begged to be allowed to go away with a few of his friends. At first Dean was terrified of losing him and said no - until he found out that one of the kids was Danni’s nephew. In fact, a few of the kids had ties to the brothel, which meant that anyone messing with the group would have Crowley to deal with.
So he reluctantly said that Sammy could go, and the adults going with the group agreed to take Bobby as well. That went a little further in soothing Dean’s fears. But still, it left him on his own for three weeks, which had never happened before.
With his usual super-psychic-boss powers, Crowley had rostered Dean on to work quite a lot in those three weeks. Dean was grateful for it - cleaning was repetitive, but it kept him occupied. The girls did their best too, and while Dean missed his little brother, he was dealing with it better than he thought he would.
Upon returning, Sam clung to Dean’s side like a limpet for the next week. While Dean had dealt with the separation, it soon became clear that Sammy didn’t like it as much as he’d thought he would.
“Hey, that’s okay,” Dean grinned down at where Bobby was sitting at his feet, Sam clinging to Dean’s arm as they watched a movie. “It just means that I’m an awesome big brother and it’s gonna be a while before you run off and leave me.”
“I won’t leave you again!” Sammy declared, tightening his grip. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too, little buddy,” Dean managed to extricate his arm and instead wrap it around his brother.
-MWM-
The next year passed much the same. Dean had hit a growth spurt again, and at seventeen years old was now approaching six feet tall. Sammy was growing like a weed as well, which annoyed both brothers no end. In addition, Crowley had decided a few months back that Dean needed a hobby, and had enrolled him in a Kendo class, over Dean’s protests that he didn’t need it. Now that he was actually attending, however, he’d found that he enjoyed it a lot, and it was helping to add some muscles to his previously scrawny frame. He’d even started dating one of the guys in his class, a dark-skinned man a little older than him called Gordon.
They’d only been on a few dates, and not really done much so far, but it was nice to have someone in his life. He’d missed it, missed having someone closer to his age to talk to, someone to be intimate with. Gordon was a great kisser… and as physically different from Cas as was possible while still being male.
It was during their second summer here that Dean’s life was shaken up again. He was working late, cleaning up the rooms, when he heard one of the girls scream for help. Without thinking it through, he ran towards the sound, shouldering his way through the door.
On the floor was Danni, curled up in a ball, arms over her head to try and protect herself. Standing over her, kicking her, was someone Dean didn’t recognise - and it filled him with rage. He grabbed the guy by the back of the shirt and hauled him away, snarling all the while. The guy tried to wriggle out of the hold and punch Dean, but he wasn’t having any of it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the guy’s torso and heaved, pulling him out of the room.
“What the bleedin’ hell is going on?”
Dean froze at the sound of Crowley’s voice. He did not sound happy in the slightest. The pause gave the bastard a chance to react before Dean did, and he launched into his version of events.
“I was enjoying the company of a lady when this animal stormed in and attacked me! Get him off me!”
“Oh really?” Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Danni? Come out here, would you love?”
Dean heard a slow shuffling, and Danni appeared in the doorway, holding her ribs. One look at her face was enough to know how much pain she was in, coupled with her laboured breathing.
“Sir, I didn’t… Said I don’t do bondage. There’s other girls do that, not me. I…”
“Frank,” Crowley turned his head to one side, addressing one of the men behind him. “Get her to the hospital. Now. Dean?” Dean nodded to show he was listening, though he was glaring at the man he still held captive. “Get that wanker out of here. He’s blacklisted.”
“Yes sir,” Dean ground out, before proceeding to drag the man out. He was furious at him for hurting someone that he and Sammy cared about.
Once that was taken care of, he went back inside to finish up what he’d been doing. There wasn’t much left of that room to do, just vacuum the floor, and then he’d fix up Danni’s room. Or at least, that was the plan, before his phone beeped at him to signal a text.
‘My office now.’ It was from Crowley. As usual with his texts, Dean wasn’t sure whether this was good or bad - Crowley didn’t get along with his phones, so spent as little time messing about with them as possible. Deciding not to chance it, Dean altered his route and went straight to the office.
Upon reaching it, he was waved straight in. Crowley was glaring at his computer screen, and Dean was instantly on edge.
“Ah, Dean. Tell me something - you’re on cleaning duty. Why did you respond to the alarm?” Crowley still hadn’t looked up from the screen.
“It was instinct, Sir,” Dean decided to keep his answers as simple and truthful as possible.
“Hm. And rather than putting the boot in, Danni assures me that you simply did your best to remove that wanker from the room.”
“Didn’t want to risk Danni getting caught up again.”
“Tell me, did you notice any other bouncers responding?”
“No Sir,” Dean thought carefully. It had struck him as a little odd, that Crowley was the first person at the room after him.
“That would be because another wanker didn’t show up for work tonight. He has now been fired, which leaves me down a bouncer.” He finally looked up at Dean, giving him an appraising look. “If that’s going to be your modus operandi, to respond quickly and get the girls out of danger first, then I think a job change is in order for you. Pay goes up too. What do you say?”
Dean blinked in surprise, considering it. It would mean working most nights, but Sammy was now old enough to stay on his own in the motel, especially with Bobby there. And sure, it was more dangerous, but it would definitely be interesting. The pay rise would be welcome too. He grinned and reached out to shake Crowley’s hand again.
“Deal.”
-MWM-
“Gordon!” Dean called out, running to his boyfriend. He quickly grabbed Gordon and kissed him, wanting to celebrate.
“Hm, always happy to see you,” Gordon laughed, taken off-balance a bit by Dean’s exuberance. “But what’s the rush?”
“Good news - I got promoted! I’m a bouncer!”
“A bouncer? How’d you go from a cleaner to a bouncer?” Gordon looked rather confused, and Dean flushed a little.
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you where I was cleaning - the Red Moon House. Now I’m a bouncer, and-”
“The Red Moon House?” Gordon frowned. “You work at a brothel?” He took a step back, and Dean blinked in confusion.
“Well, yeah, but not as a hooker. I’m-”
“You’re disgusting,” Gordon continued to back up, now glaring at Dean. Dean felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “How could you work somewhere like that? I thought you were taking care of your brother!”
“I am! Crowley’s paying for his schooling, and for our room at the motel-”
“That’s just sick,” Gordon spat. “Whoring yourself out like that. I can’t believe I fell for it.”
“Gordon, wait-”
“No. Don’t come near me again. We’re through.”
With that, Gordon turned and walked away, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Dean watched, feeling empty inside as yet another person he cared about left him alone.
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Chapter Rating: M for adult themes
-MWM-
Despite his misgivings, Crowley was as good as his word. The motel chosen for them was close to the school, so Sammy could walk easily, and not too far from the main brothel Dean was working at. Several of the girls had immediately decided that he was ‘adorable’, and had taken him under their wings. As a result, he already knew the best shops to go to, the best days to go to various diners for their specials, and to keep out of Crowley’s line of sight as much as possible.
Danni, one of the girls, was sitting on the bed while Dean vacuumed the floor.
“If you hold up your end of the deal, Crowley’s a great boss. He sees us all as his investments, and doesn’t like it if a customer threatens us. He’d rather lose one customer than have one of us put out of commission. But if you cross him, he won’t stop coming after you until you’re so firmly under his thumb that you can’t escape. Basically, he owns you. Be glad that he hates paedophiles, or you’d be working on your back.”
“What about when I turn eighteen?” Dean asked, suddenly nervous. Danni shrugged.
“Depends. If you’re doing well for him in your current position, he’ll probably keep you. It’s actually harder to keep cleaners and maintenance than it is to keep girls and boys. Or maybe he’ll promote you to a bouncer, you look like you’re gonna bulk up in a few years. Then again, by that time you might want to work the sheets.”
Dean had considered it, and tried to take her advice as much as possible. Unfortunately, keeping out of Crowley’s sight was near impossible, since one of the stipulations of paying for Sam’s schooling was that the younger boy meet with him once a month to discuss his grades. Dean wasn’t about to leave Sammy alone with someone they didn’t really know, so he always attended the meeting as well.
Crowley didn’t seem to mind. He also seemed to ignore any attitude that Dean gave him when it pertained to Sammy’s wellbeing. The man was impossible to figure out.
For some reason, Sam had taken an instant dislike to Crowley. He kept his answers as short and to the point as possible, glaring sullenly now and then. Dean couldn’t work it out, though Crowley didn’t seem to pay any attention to it, but it was one reason Dean wouldn’t leave the two alone together - Sammy could be a mouthy little brat when he wanted to be, and though Crowley had been fair to them so far, there was no telling what could happen if he lost his temper at them.
They’d kept this up for several months, when Christmas came around. Dean was awoken by a knock on the door. Before he could react, Sammy had pulled it open, then shrieked in delight.
“Dean! Look! A puppy!”
“What?” Dean stumbled out of bed, highly confused.
He looked down, seeing Sam crouched next to a box which, indeed, contained a puppy. Next to the box were a puppy bed, food dish, water dish, and a large pack of puppy food. The puppy already had a collar on, with a tag reading ‘Property of Sammy Winchester’.
“Dean, you got me a puppy for Christmas!”
“No I didn’t,” Dean answered blearily.
“But who did then?” Sam had already opened the box and picked up the puppy, which was trying to lick his face off. This caused peals of laughter from the boy.
Dean then spotted the card and picked it up, suddenly remembering a conversation he’d had with Crowley several weeks ago.
“So, any plans for Christmas?”
“A couple of the off-duty girls have invited us around for dinner. They’re gonna love Sammy.”
“I’ll bet. Look, I might need you to work a few nights coming up soon. How do you feel about leaving Sam by himself?”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Maybe you should get a dog. Something big to protect him.”
“I would if I could. But the motel doesn’t allow pets, and I couldn’t afford one anyway.”
He’d thought that was the end of it. But no, here was a puppy, and the card confirmed it was from Crowley, apparently as a reward for Sam getting straight As. Dean shook his head, though he was grinning slightly. Yes, he was an investment to Crowley - but it came with perks, so he wasn’t going to turn it down.
“Right, Crowley gave it to you. And he’s told the motel owners to let you keep it. So, what are you gonna call it?”
“Um… I dunno! What sort of puppy is he?”
Dean again scanned the card, then closed his eyes and groaned.
“Rottweiler.”
“Awesome!”
-MWM-
Things settled down into a routine for the brothers fairly quickly after that. For reasons unknown to Dean, the puppy was christened Bobby. Sam took care of him mostly, feeding him and taking him for walks. The two of them were doing their best to house-train him as well, which was slow going but improving. Sam made friends in school again, and was usually near the top of the class. He got involved in soccer, loving to run around with the other boys, which Dean encouraged. He attended as many of Sam’s games as he could, which was quite a few.
Their birthdays came and went, both with just a small celebration between the two of them. Dean was proud of the way Sammy was handling their new life, and told him as much. Sam blushed and hid behind his dinner, earning a laugh.
When summer came around, Sam begged to be allowed to go away with a few of his friends. At first Dean was terrified of losing him and said no - until he found out that one of the kids was Danni’s nephew. In fact, a few of the kids had ties to the brothel, which meant that anyone messing with the group would have Crowley to deal with.
So he reluctantly said that Sammy could go, and the adults going with the group agreed to take Bobby as well. That went a little further in soothing Dean’s fears. But still, it left him on his own for three weeks, which had never happened before.
With his usual super-psychic-boss powers, Crowley had rostered Dean on to work quite a lot in those three weeks. Dean was grateful for it - cleaning was repetitive, but it kept him occupied. The girls did their best too, and while Dean missed his little brother, he was dealing with it better than he thought he would.
Upon returning, Sam clung to Dean’s side like a limpet for the next week. While Dean had dealt with the separation, it soon became clear that Sammy didn’t like it as much as he’d thought he would.
“Hey, that’s okay,” Dean grinned down at where Bobby was sitting at his feet, Sam clinging to Dean’s arm as they watched a movie. “It just means that I’m an awesome big brother and it’s gonna be a while before you run off and leave me.”
“I won’t leave you again!” Sammy declared, tightening his grip. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too, little buddy,” Dean managed to extricate his arm and instead wrap it around his brother.
-MWM-
The next year passed much the same. Dean had hit a growth spurt again, and at seventeen years old was now approaching six feet tall. Sammy was growing like a weed as well, which annoyed both brothers no end. In addition, Crowley had decided a few months back that Dean needed a hobby, and had enrolled him in a Kendo class, over Dean’s protests that he didn’t need it. Now that he was actually attending, however, he’d found that he enjoyed it a lot, and it was helping to add some muscles to his previously scrawny frame. He’d even started dating one of the guys in his class, a dark-skinned man a little older than him called Gordon.
They’d only been on a few dates, and not really done much so far, but it was nice to have someone in his life. He’d missed it, missed having someone closer to his age to talk to, someone to be intimate with. Gordon was a great kisser… and as physically different from Cas as was possible while still being male.
It was during their second summer here that Dean’s life was shaken up again. He was working late, cleaning up the rooms, when he heard one of the girls scream for help. Without thinking it through, he ran towards the sound, shouldering his way through the door.
On the floor was Danni, curled up in a ball, arms over her head to try and protect herself. Standing over her, kicking her, was someone Dean didn’t recognise - and it filled him with rage. He grabbed the guy by the back of the shirt and hauled him away, snarling all the while. The guy tried to wriggle out of the hold and punch Dean, but he wasn’t having any of it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the guy’s torso and heaved, pulling him out of the room.
“What the bleedin’ hell is going on?”
Dean froze at the sound of Crowley’s voice. He did not sound happy in the slightest. The pause gave the bastard a chance to react before Dean did, and he launched into his version of events.
“I was enjoying the company of a lady when this animal stormed in and attacked me! Get him off me!”
“Oh really?” Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Danni? Come out here, would you love?”
Dean heard a slow shuffling, and Danni appeared in the doorway, holding her ribs. One look at her face was enough to know how much pain she was in, coupled with her laboured breathing.
“Sir, I didn’t… Said I don’t do bondage. There’s other girls do that, not me. I…”
“Frank,” Crowley turned his head to one side, addressing one of the men behind him. “Get her to the hospital. Now. Dean?” Dean nodded to show he was listening, though he was glaring at the man he still held captive. “Get that wanker out of here. He’s blacklisted.”
“Yes sir,” Dean ground out, before proceeding to drag the man out. He was furious at him for hurting someone that he and Sammy cared about.
Once that was taken care of, he went back inside to finish up what he’d been doing. There wasn’t much left of that room to do, just vacuum the floor, and then he’d fix up Danni’s room. Or at least, that was the plan, before his phone beeped at him to signal a text.
‘My office now.’ It was from Crowley. As usual with his texts, Dean wasn’t sure whether this was good or bad - Crowley didn’t get along with his phones, so spent as little time messing about with them as possible. Deciding not to chance it, Dean altered his route and went straight to the office.
Upon reaching it, he was waved straight in. Crowley was glaring at his computer screen, and Dean was instantly on edge.
“Ah, Dean. Tell me something - you’re on cleaning duty. Why did you respond to the alarm?” Crowley still hadn’t looked up from the screen.
“It was instinct, Sir,” Dean decided to keep his answers as simple and truthful as possible.
“Hm. And rather than putting the boot in, Danni assures me that you simply did your best to remove that wanker from the room.”
“Didn’t want to risk Danni getting caught up again.”
“Tell me, did you notice any other bouncers responding?”
“No Sir,” Dean thought carefully. It had struck him as a little odd, that Crowley was the first person at the room after him.
“That would be because another wanker didn’t show up for work tonight. He has now been fired, which leaves me down a bouncer.” He finally looked up at Dean, giving him an appraising look. “If that’s going to be your modus operandi, to respond quickly and get the girls out of danger first, then I think a job change is in order for you. Pay goes up too. What do you say?”
Dean blinked in surprise, considering it. It would mean working most nights, but Sammy was now old enough to stay on his own in the motel, especially with Bobby there. And sure, it was more dangerous, but it would definitely be interesting. The pay rise would be welcome too. He grinned and reached out to shake Crowley’s hand again.
“Deal.”
-MWM-
“Gordon!” Dean called out, running to his boyfriend. He quickly grabbed Gordon and kissed him, wanting to celebrate.
“Hm, always happy to see you,” Gordon laughed, taken off-balance a bit by Dean’s exuberance. “But what’s the rush?”
“Good news - I got promoted! I’m a bouncer!”
“A bouncer? How’d you go from a cleaner to a bouncer?” Gordon looked rather confused, and Dean flushed a little.
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you where I was cleaning - the Red Moon House. Now I’m a bouncer, and-”
“The Red Moon House?” Gordon frowned. “You work at a brothel?” He took a step back, and Dean blinked in confusion.
“Well, yeah, but not as a hooker. I’m-”
“You’re disgusting,” Gordon continued to back up, now glaring at Dean. Dean felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “How could you work somewhere like that? I thought you were taking care of your brother!”
“I am! Crowley’s paying for his schooling, and for our room at the motel-”
“That’s just sick,” Gordon spat. “Whoring yourself out like that. I can’t believe I fell for it.”
“Gordon, wait-”
“No. Don’t come near me again. We’re through.”
With that, Gordon turned and walked away, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Dean watched, feeling empty inside as yet another person he cared about left him alone.
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