Santorum, continued after too long - also on A03 now.
Hey guys, sorry about the abandoned fic. For ages I didn't feel like fiicing, also I had a full-time job, but now I'm back at uni, and have some time to get un-rusty at this ficing thing :)
also, you can read the whole thing on ao3
Castiel stood straight and about as tense as a titanium rod as Dick paced up and down in front of him. Since Dean's cross-examination, he'd been dreading his own.
"Mr Novak, you're aware that creating pornographic material is now an illegal offense?"
"Yes."
"And that this court has heard, and seen evidence, that you created pornographic material."
"Yes."
"Now, even if that material was for the personal use of you, and your partner, it was still an offence," he turned to the jury, "just like growing your own pot is an offence, even if you don't supply it to anyone else."
Castiel glanced quickly at the judge. "Was that...a question?"
"No," Dick rounded on him, "But I'd like to ask you whether you considered the possibility that a child, could have come across the images you and Mr Winchester created. Or maybe an already disturbed individual might have come across them, and gone on to commit sexual violence. Did you ever consider that?"
"No." Castiel was losing the fight to keep his belligerence to himself.
"That's all," Dick sat down, and Sam sprang into action.
"And why, Mr Novak did you not consider that?"
"Because the idea is ridiculous."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that to say porn causes sexual violence is grossly incorrect. Poor education, pre-existing mental conditions and prior abuse are probably the causes of such behaviour. Watching sex is, I believe, no more harmful than sex itself."
"And with regards to children?"
"The website our material was loaded onto was age protected. It required a credit card to access - which is also an age restricted item. If parents aren't vigilant then of course their children can access this kind of material, but that's their concern - they need to protect their children. And...quite possibly they need to ask them why they're watching gay porn, and talk about it."
"Objection. The defendant is not here to talk about his lifestyle, in an attempt to normalise his behaviour."
"Overruled," the judge sighed, "Mr Roman, please remember that this is not mid the 1800's."
Sam turned back to Castiel, with an encouraging smile, "One more question, Mr Roman has likened your production of pornography to the production of drugs, do you view it that way?"
Castiel considered. "In some ways."
"And those are?"
"Drugs vary in classification, and laws governing both narcotics and porn vary from country to country. But, drugs are proven to be harmful, and are mostly illegal, while pornography is something that has come out of human behaviour, and mostly, it's perfectly healthy to watch it."
"Thank you Mr Novak."
The judge peered myopically down at the prosecution. "Any further witnesses to call, Mr Roman?"
"No, your honour."
"Mr Winchester?"
"Just one your honour. Gabriel Novak."
Castiel actually felt freedom slipping away from him, laughing in his face.
Castiel was allowed to leave the dock, and was taken back to the table where Sam's papers were stacked neatly, and where Dean was glaring at his brother.
"Did he say anything to you?" Castiel whispered.
"Not a damn thing." Dean mutters back, "if he screws this up, I will...well, I'll be in prison, but I'll use my connections to have his head shaved while he sleeps."
Gabriel took the stand, shining like some kind of rayon, nuclear waste mutated seaweed in a green suit. As he was sworn in Castiel prayed that, for all Gabriel was his brother, and he loved him, a bolt of lightning would come through the roof and kill him.
"You are Castiel Novak's brother, correct?" Sam began.
"Correct. I have decade's worth of pictures to prove it."
Castiel prays for locusts, or even a small, localised typhoon.
"And your relationship with Dean Winchester?"
"Dean was a paying customer of my porn site, before the government shut me down. He's also screwing my brother Castiel, and I am slipping it to his fine ass younger brother five and a half times daily."
Dean closed his eyes and whispered, "Don't you just wish God would just, smite him down?"
Castiel looked at him, surprised. "I don't think we've ever been closer than we are right now."
"Huh?"
Sam recovered from his modest blush and asked, "and what is your connection to these criminal charges?"
Gabriel sighed. "I'm the one who put their video on the website."
"And you profited from the video."
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe! People cannot get enough of those two, even if Dean had some uh...I don't know how to put this delicately, but at the start he was a little bit of a flaccid Sally."
Dean glared at the courtroom floor. "Take him now Satan."
Castiel nudged him.
"What?"
"Leave Satan alone."
"So, you're risking quite a lot by testifying today."
"I wanted to take my share of the blame. I didn't blur their faces, mostly because the software is really expensive, and also because I forgot, and I'm lazy."
"And do you believe that they deserve to be punished for filming themselves...in flagrante?"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "We're taking this lawyer thing home with us."
Sam glared.
"OK, fine. No, I think they're perfectly entitled to their own bodies and any recordings thereof, and if they want to share that with other, consenting people, then...well, it's not up to the government to tell them that they can't. And, from a brief entrance poll, I can tell you that at least six people in this room have seen that video - I checked the credit details against the front desk sign in sheet."
There was a long, still, silence.
Gabriel leant forwards and stage whispered, 'The name of one of them rhymes with Prick Blowman."
Absolute mayhem broke out. People in the gallery whistled and shouted and Dick Roman was on his feet, bellowing at the court reporter to strike that from the record, Sam was shouting at Roman to sit his ass down, Castiel was shouting for Satan to heap blessings on his brother, and the judge was shouting for order.
Finally, the chaos subsided, and Gabriel was allowed to leave the stand.
"I will allow closing arguments after a short recess."
Dick Roman left the room as quickly as possible, and Gabriel went with Sam and their brothers to the little coffee cart outside the courthouse.
"What the hell was that?" Castiel said, "How did you know about him?"
"Like I said, records, sign in sheet," Gabriel shrugged. "It's not a common name. And you're not off the hook yet."
"I know," Castiel sighed.
"But hopefully his closing will have a little less bite to it now." Gabriel grinned, then tugged at Sam's arm, "least you can do is buy me a donut in exchange for me saving your ass."
Sam sighed, but went over to the cart and handed over the money.
"We might actually stand a chance, you know that?" Dean said, "God, this is...I never thought it would be this hard to just have something."
Castiel raised an eyebrow.
"We have something?"
Dean looked at the ground. "We have something."
"And that thing is?" Castiel teased, "a mutual interest in how good you look naked?"
"That thing is...kind me loving you."
Castiel dropped his coffee and it splashed over the sidewalk.
"I have a habit of making you do that," Dean muttered, "look, forget I said-"
Castiel stepped forwards and hugged him, hard, around the middle.
"We're standing in coffee," Dean pointed out, Castiel's dark hair tickling his nose.
"I don't care," Castiel looked up at him, "I love you too."
A smile like a watermelon slice split Dean's face. "This is so gay."
"And you don't even care."
"And I don't care!" he whooped, "that, that is growth right there."
Castiel kissed him, and their smiles made it kind of awkward and toothy, but awesome at the same time.
"Boo! Fags!" A donut hit Dean in the side of the head.
"Gabriel! I paid five bucks for that."
also, you can read the whole thing on ao3
Castiel stood straight and about as tense as a titanium rod as Dick paced up and down in front of him. Since Dean's cross-examination, he'd been dreading his own.
"Mr Novak, you're aware that creating pornographic material is now an illegal offense?"
"Yes."
"And that this court has heard, and seen evidence, that you created pornographic material."
"Yes."
"Now, even if that material was for the personal use of you, and your partner, it was still an offence," he turned to the jury, "just like growing your own pot is an offence, even if you don't supply it to anyone else."
Castiel glanced quickly at the judge. "Was that...a question?"
"No," Dick rounded on him, "But I'd like to ask you whether you considered the possibility that a child, could have come across the images you and Mr Winchester created. Or maybe an already disturbed individual might have come across them, and gone on to commit sexual violence. Did you ever consider that?"
"No." Castiel was losing the fight to keep his belligerence to himself.
"That's all," Dick sat down, and Sam sprang into action.
"And why, Mr Novak did you not consider that?"
"Because the idea is ridiculous."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that to say porn causes sexual violence is grossly incorrect. Poor education, pre-existing mental conditions and prior abuse are probably the causes of such behaviour. Watching sex is, I believe, no more harmful than sex itself."
"And with regards to children?"
"The website our material was loaded onto was age protected. It required a credit card to access - which is also an age restricted item. If parents aren't vigilant then of course their children can access this kind of material, but that's their concern - they need to protect their children. And...quite possibly they need to ask them why they're watching gay porn, and talk about it."
"Objection. The defendant is not here to talk about his lifestyle, in an attempt to normalise his behaviour."
"Overruled," the judge sighed, "Mr Roman, please remember that this is not mid the 1800's."
Sam turned back to Castiel, with an encouraging smile, "One more question, Mr Roman has likened your production of pornography to the production of drugs, do you view it that way?"
Castiel considered. "In some ways."
"And those are?"
"Drugs vary in classification, and laws governing both narcotics and porn vary from country to country. But, drugs are proven to be harmful, and are mostly illegal, while pornography is something that has come out of human behaviour, and mostly, it's perfectly healthy to watch it."
"Thank you Mr Novak."
The judge peered myopically down at the prosecution. "Any further witnesses to call, Mr Roman?"
"No, your honour."
"Mr Winchester?"
"Just one your honour. Gabriel Novak."
Castiel actually felt freedom slipping away from him, laughing in his face.
Castiel was allowed to leave the dock, and was taken back to the table where Sam's papers were stacked neatly, and where Dean was glaring at his brother.
"Did he say anything to you?" Castiel whispered.
"Not a damn thing." Dean mutters back, "if he screws this up, I will...well, I'll be in prison, but I'll use my connections to have his head shaved while he sleeps."
Gabriel took the stand, shining like some kind of rayon, nuclear waste mutated seaweed in a green suit. As he was sworn in Castiel prayed that, for all Gabriel was his brother, and he loved him, a bolt of lightning would come through the roof and kill him.
"You are Castiel Novak's brother, correct?" Sam began.
"Correct. I have decade's worth of pictures to prove it."
Castiel prays for locusts, or even a small, localised typhoon.
"And your relationship with Dean Winchester?"
"Dean was a paying customer of my porn site, before the government shut me down. He's also screwing my brother Castiel, and I am slipping it to his fine ass younger brother five and a half times daily."
Dean closed his eyes and whispered, "Don't you just wish God would just, smite him down?"
Castiel looked at him, surprised. "I don't think we've ever been closer than we are right now."
"Huh?"
Sam recovered from his modest blush and asked, "and what is your connection to these criminal charges?"
Gabriel sighed. "I'm the one who put their video on the website."
"And you profited from the video."
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe! People cannot get enough of those two, even if Dean had some uh...I don't know how to put this delicately, but at the start he was a little bit of a flaccid Sally."
Dean glared at the courtroom floor. "Take him now Satan."
Castiel nudged him.
"What?"
"Leave Satan alone."
"So, you're risking quite a lot by testifying today."
"I wanted to take my share of the blame. I didn't blur their faces, mostly because the software is really expensive, and also because I forgot, and I'm lazy."
"And do you believe that they deserve to be punished for filming themselves...in flagrante?"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "We're taking this lawyer thing home with us."
Sam glared.
"OK, fine. No, I think they're perfectly entitled to their own bodies and any recordings thereof, and if they want to share that with other, consenting people, then...well, it's not up to the government to tell them that they can't. And, from a brief entrance poll, I can tell you that at least six people in this room have seen that video - I checked the credit details against the front desk sign in sheet."
There was a long, still, silence.
Gabriel leant forwards and stage whispered, 'The name of one of them rhymes with Prick Blowman."
Absolute mayhem broke out. People in the gallery whistled and shouted and Dick Roman was on his feet, bellowing at the court reporter to strike that from the record, Sam was shouting at Roman to sit his ass down, Castiel was shouting for Satan to heap blessings on his brother, and the judge was shouting for order.
Finally, the chaos subsided, and Gabriel was allowed to leave the stand.
"I will allow closing arguments after a short recess."
Dick Roman left the room as quickly as possible, and Gabriel went with Sam and their brothers to the little coffee cart outside the courthouse.
"What the hell was that?" Castiel said, "How did you know about him?"
"Like I said, records, sign in sheet," Gabriel shrugged. "It's not a common name. And you're not off the hook yet."
"I know," Castiel sighed.
"But hopefully his closing will have a little less bite to it now." Gabriel grinned, then tugged at Sam's arm, "least you can do is buy me a donut in exchange for me saving your ass."
Sam sighed, but went over to the cart and handed over the money.
"We might actually stand a chance, you know that?" Dean said, "God, this is...I never thought it would be this hard to just have something."
Castiel raised an eyebrow.
"We have something?"
Dean looked at the ground. "We have something."
"And that thing is?" Castiel teased, "a mutual interest in how good you look naked?"
"That thing is...kind me loving you."
Castiel dropped his coffee and it splashed over the sidewalk.
"I have a habit of making you do that," Dean muttered, "look, forget I said-"
Castiel stepped forwards and hugged him, hard, around the middle.
"We're standing in coffee," Dean pointed out, Castiel's dark hair tickling his nose.
"I don't care," Castiel looked up at him, "I love you too."
A smile like a watermelon slice split Dean's face. "This is so gay."
"And you don't even care."
"And I don't care!" he whooped, "that, that is growth right there."
Castiel kissed him, and their smiles made it kind of awkward and toothy, but awesome at the same time.
"Boo! Fags!" A donut hit Dean in the side of the head.
"Gabriel! I paid five bucks for that."