Cheeseburgers and Pie (Chapter 15)
Ten Years Later
Moss green, that’s all he could make out. Some kind of swirling color pattern and a flash of tan with spots, spots that got smaller and spread out across the expanse of tan. The colors swirled and twisted and morphed until they formed something recognizable. It turned around and the green was still mossy, but brighter than before, not muddled with the rest of the colors but separate and defined. He heard a name, his name. Cas.
Castiel woke with a gasp as his head hit the passenger window. Groaning softly he pulled himself up in the car and rolled his shoulders to pop the stiffness out of his neck. He unfolds his legs from where they were perched on top of the glove box and stretches the rest of his body out as far as he can in the tiny rental car.
“Ah, you’re up!” Castiel sniffles and rubs the rest of the sleep out of his eyes. He rolls his head over on the seat and squints through one eye at his partner. Balthazar was flashing him a winning smile while taking glances at the road. Castiel groaned again as he straightened up the rest of the way in his seat. “Morning star shine!”
“It’s hardly the morning anymore, Balthazar.” Castiel does one final stretch and with a loud pop, snaps his shoulder back into place.
“You know it’s disgusting when you do that darling, nobody likes to hear bones rub up against bones.” Balthazar pauses slightly then a lewd smile spreads over his face, “or at least not those bones.”
“Balthazar,” Castiel warns.
“Oh hush grumpy,” Balthazar reaches over playfully and fluffs Castiel’s hair. Castiel bats his hand away and settles back down into his seat.
“Where are we?” Castiel mumbles as he leans his forehead against the cool glass.
“Just turned onto the CA-152, should be about a half and hour left.” Castiel grunts in response and they fall into silence. Castiel’s mind is still racing from his dream though. It had been a while since he’d seen that face in his dreams, he wasn’t sure what it was but seeing him now made the trip more nerve wracking. “Hey, Cassie?” Castiel turns his head to catch Balthazar’s glance, “are you okay?”
“Yes, I-“ Balthazar gives Castiel a meaningful look and Castiel sighs heavily, “I just had that dream again.” Balthazar makes a sound of understanding and Castiel continues, “this is also my first convention. I can’t believe I have to make a speech. Uriel didn’t have to prepare anything.”
“That’s because Uriel isn’t the head of the country’s most successful chondrosarcoma research and surgery team.” Castiel huffs and settles back in his seat even more to pout. “Hey, cheer up, it’ll be fun.”
“Talking about bone cancer isn’t ‘fun’ Balthazar.” Castiel scolds as he whips out his phone to check his emails.
“It is if you get absolutely smashed before hand.” Castiel scowled across the car at his friend but Balthazar was too busy smiling to himself to pay attention. They pass the last fifteen minutes in silence, with Castiel either rehearsing his speech in his head or thinking about green eyes from the past. Balthazar seems content with whistling show tunes so Castiel leaves him to it. When they roll into the outskirts of Stanford, the rental suddenly makes a whirring noise; followed by a violent grinding and then a high pitched whining. Balthazar immediately pulls the car over to the side of the main road and flips the flashers. “Jesus, fuck, Cassie!”
Castiel pulls himself out of the car and motions for Balthazar to pop the hood. It’s already steaming and as Castiel lifts it he gets lost in the cloud. He backs away instinctively and strolls over to the driver’s side where Balthazar is looking despairingly at the cloud of rising steam. “Why is it that anywhere I go with you, things just never work out?”
“What are you talking about Cassie? Things are fine! Just a little snag is all.” Balthazar hops out of the car, black cowboy boots crunching on the gravel and pulls out his own phone. “I’ll call a tow and get it sorted. Don’t get your panties in a knot, doll.”
Castiel shoots him another annoyed glance and turns to walk to the other side of the car. Ten minutes later, a black tow truck marked ‘W&W’ pulls up and an older man, dressed in an old trucker hat with some form of long washed away logo, worn out flannel shirt and equally worn jeans hops out of the cab and lumbers over towards the car. Balthazar explains the situation quickly to the tow truck driver and he makes quick work of stringing up the car. Both men climb into the cab of the truck and the load is hauled off towards the nearest garage.
W&W looks like a family establishment. Some form of mom-and-pop operation that probably started out of the Great Depression and has been in the family since then. The historical plaque on the side of the building confirms it was at least built in the 1940’s. As Castiel enters the shop he finds Balthazar flirting with the small blonde woman at the front desk. He’s probably tapping into whatever he has left of his English accent and laying it on thick for that poor child. Castiel smiles to himself and lets his feet carry him around the lobby, studying pictures of old cars and antique photographs of the city. He wanders around the perimeter and catches snippets of the conversation Balthazar is having with the receptionist. He smiles as he hears Balthazar recount his heroic tale or saving a little girl from a rabid hound back when he lived in Liverpool just across the street from where The Beatles had lived. It’s all bullshit, but he wasn’t about to cause a scene so he just laughs quietly to himself and keeps wandering. Eventually Castiel makes it around the whole office, but finds his feet still restless so he sneaks past the front desk and out the back door marked ‘pick-up,’ he’s sure whoever is working on the car isn’t done yet, but he just rode in a car for nearly six hours and he couldn’t sit and wait if he tried. He’s just working his way over to the vending machine to buy a soda when he hears someone call out to him.
“Hey! Hey buddy, you can’t be back here unless your car is ready!” He turns and watches an outrageously tall man stride over to him hurriedly, his shoulder length hair blowing back. Castiel has an image of a runway model from the fashion show Balthazar dragged him to a couple years back, but quickly shakes the image away as the other man steps closer. “Sorry, company policy. We can’t have our customers getting hurt.”
“No, of course, I understand,” Castiel grunts, keeping his eyes firmly on his shoes, “I was just -” he stops as he looks up and finally gets a good look at the taller man’s face. Then his eyes search for a name tag. The generic mechanic overalls are opened to the waist with the torso section tied off to he finds none, but this face is too familiar, he takes a chance and goes with his instincts. “Sam? ”
Sam Winchester steps forward again and squints closely at Castiel’s face. Realization dawns across his features and a smile spreads over his face, “Castiel Novak?” Castiel nods and shakes the hand that Sam extended toward him.
“Man, it’s been - “ Sam starts, rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous tick he probably picked up from Dean.
“Ten years.” Castiel supplies flatly.
“Jesus, ten?” Castiel nods and Sam whistles low. “Well, what brings you here?”
“My car was making strange noises and then just stopped.” Castiel answers, staring off at a space on the wall behind Sam’s head.
“No, I know why you’re here, I meant why are you in California?” Sam gestures around him to indicate the space.
“Oh. I have a medical conference up at the college.” Castiel fumbles with the belt on his trench coat and Sam nods enthusiastically.
“Yeah, yeah I heard about that. Big deal, huh?” Castiel nods slowly and a bell goes off right above his head. Castiel flinches violently and Sam whips his head around to take a quick glance back towards the line of cars. “Look, uh, I gotta get back to work. Just grab a soda and go back to the lobby would you? I’d get murdered if anyone knew you were back here.”
Castiel nods obediently and turns towards the lobby, his thirst forgotten for the time being. Sam is here. But Castiel already knew that, Dean had gushed about him getting accepted to Stanford, he’d just forgotten for a moment. This isn’t a big deal. Just because Sam is here doesn’t mean there’s any chance Dean will be here. At that line of thought, Castiel pauses. Why should it bother him if Dean is here? It’s been ten years. It’s not like he’d been pining after his first love for all that time. Castiel had moved on, had a few short meaningful relationships and a handful of one night stands. He was willing to bet Dean had managed even better than himself in that respect. Castiel shakes himself again, rolling the tension out of his shoulders and re-entering the lobby. He takes a few determined strides and plops down on the leather sofa next to Balthazar.
“And where have you been?” Balthazar questions as he continues to flip through the two year old Time magazine in his hands.
“I took a walk.” Castiel mumbles grumpily. Balthazar eyes him suspiciously but Castiel just huffs and swipes a magazine off of the table. He thumbs through it determinedly and keeps his focus on the magazine so he doesn’t have to face Balthazar’s inquisitive stares. What feels like an eternity rolls by and the girl at the counter finally calls out to them.
“Mr. Novak?” Castiel looks up quickly and she beckons him over. He stops at the counter and glances down at her nametag. Becky. “If you just give me a moment I’ll have your paperwork brought in from the garage.” She taps a button and Castiel hears a faint buzzer go off behind the glass. “Our head mechanic will explain things to you and let you know our plan of action to fix your car. If you could sign this form for the tow,” Becky quickly slides a clipboard and pen up on the counter for him with the appropriate document, “we’ll just factor in the tow into your final price.” Castiel nods politely and leans down to read the paper, his luck, he’d forgotten his reading glasses in the glove box.
A small bell rings to signal someone coming in from the garage and he hears heavy boots come around the corner accompanied by the rustling of papers. “Hey, Becky do me a favor and order some more gloves for the welding station, Chuck just melted his pair. Actually make that two, god knows he’ll use them.” Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. It’s my imagination. It has to be. Castiel keeps his head down and glares at the paper in front of him as he slowly signs his name with a shaky hand. “Novak? Funny, a buddy of mine had -“
Castiel hears the work boots skid to a halt somewhere behind the counter and he takes a deep bracing breath. Sure enough when Castiel lifts his gaze up, from the boots, to the oil stained jeans, to the white grease smeared tank top and finally up past well defined biceps his gaze locks onto those soft green eyes and he feels his internal organs fall this a thud into his feet. Castiel knows he’s staring. He knows the look on his face is harsh, his features drawn back in a form of bristling. Castiel knows it’s childish of him to still feel this way about Dean Winchester. But he can’t stop.
“Cas?” Dean takes a step forward to the counter, his eyes are shining and there’s a small smile spreading across his face.
“Castiel.” Dean’s smile falls immediately but his eyes are still shining with something, but what Castiel couldn’t fathom a guess.
“Right, uh, well, I have bad news.” Dean steps forward, professional mask hiding whatever his face was betraying moments before and he steps up next to Castiel and places the papers in his hands on the counter. “You car -“
“It’s a rental.” Castiel corrects curtly.
“Really? You got ripped off then, bud.” Castiel’s stomach flips at the proximity of Dean, though it shouldn’t. “The transmission’s blown. It will take me a couple days to fix. We only have two other mechanics this weekend and about six cars ahead of you in line.” Castiel sighs and rubs a hand over his forehead. The trip is being paid for by the hospital, but he doesn’t have the time to look for another rental right now. He was supposed to check into the hotel a half an hour ago. “It gets worse though, I don’t know if you picked up anything about cars since -“ Castiel gives him a cold glare and Dean stops his train of thought, “uh, but this job will cost maybe two grand if you’re lucky, five if you aren’t.”
“Money isn’t a problem.” Castiel states.
“Oh,” Dean is taken aback by the comment and Castiel realizes now that he’d been rude.
“Apologies, I meant my employer would pay. I’m going to the medical conference at Stanford this weekend. So, any bills should be faxed over to the hospital.” Castiel isn’t sure why he’d told Dean that, but Dean’s eyebrows rise in interest so he doesn’t feel like a complete fool.
“So? Dr. Novak?” Castiel nods a small smile of pride spreading across his face. “Congrats, Castiel.”
“Thank you, Dean.” Dean nods and flashes him a small smile back, it makes Castiel’s fingers tingle but he calmly tells himself to get a grip.
“Oy! Cassie!” Balthazar calls as he strolls up next to him on the counter. “Oh, hey, who’s your friend, darling?” He nearly pushes Castiel out of the way as he leans forward to leer at Dean.
“Dean, this is my partner Balthazar.” Castiel motions between the two and Dean’s face falls again.
“Partner?” Dean’s voice cracks slightly on the word but Castiel barely notices.
“Sure thing,” Balthazar chimes as he holds a hand out, “partners for, what is it now, four years, love?”
“Five.” Castiel corrects softly, studying the paperwork closely and signing his name where necessary.
“Ah, yes, five blissful years with this lug.” Balthazar’s smile is ear to ear but Dean can only muster a small smirk. “Pleasure to meet you, mister?”
“Dean, Dean Winchester.” Dean finally grabs the offered hand and gives a firm shake.
“Dean?” Balthazar’s eyebrows shoot straight up to his hairline and his smile nearly splits his face, “Cassie, this isn’t the De-“ Castiel cuts Balthazar off with a quick jab to the ribs with his elbow and a warning glare. Balthazar recovers smoothly and squeezes once again on Dean’s hand, “An absolute pleasure.”
“I’m sure,” Dean says speculatively. Balthazar answers with another winning smile.
Castiel clears his throat and slides the paperwork over to Becky who had been staring at the exchange with wide eyes and a devilish grin on her face. “That should be everything. Here’s my business card with the hospital’s information on it. Send the bill over as soon as possible, if you can.” Becky nods and rolls around to the other side of the desk and begins checking the paperwork.
“Balthazar, would you call a taxi, my phone is nearly dead.” Balthazar nods and starts to google taxi services when Dean clears his throat pointedly. Both men turn to stare at him.
“I could drive you.” Dean offers.
“I wouldn’t want to burden you. You said you were busy.” Castiel states.
“It’s actually my dinner break.” Dean defends.
“Oh.” Castiel can’t think of a reason not to let Dean drive them, if he’s indeed willing. Other than the fact that being in his presence is making Castiel feel like he’s twenty again. Castiel continues to stare at Dean for what in reality is only a second or two, but it feels like an hour.
Balthazar takes a moment to glance between the two of them and then finally clears his throat, “we greatly appreciate it, don’t we Cassie?” Balthazar returns the earlier jab to the ribs and Castiel snaps out of his trance and nods.
Dean smiles at Castiel and nods also, “Okay, great, your car is open so you can grab your stuff, I’ll meet you out back.” He turns to head to what looks like an office, before turning back, “oh, yeah, here,” Dean tosses the keys and Castiel snatches them out of the air. “just put your stuff in the trunk or whatever.” Castiel nods and starts to lead Balthazar out towards the garage. “And, Cas?” Castiel turns, not bothering to correct the nickname again, “be careful with her.”
Castiel’s calm breaks into a small amused smile, “I remember, Dean.” Dean’s eyes sparkle with humor and they part ways.
Castiel is pushing their luggage into the trunk if the Impala when Balthazar finally confronts him about what happened inside.
“Cassie.” Castiel stops shuffling the luggage to take a step back and meet his friend’s concerned gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course.” He’s not. His stomach is fluttering in ways it hasn’t for ten years and he can’t get the image of Dean’s eyes out of his head. If he isn’t careful he’s going to fall hard for Dean again and he just doesn’t have the time or energy to deal with something like that a second time. Balthazar gives him a skeptical look and Castiel shrugs it off, proceeding to pack the car a little more intensely than he had previously. He slams the trunk down as Dean exits the main building. Castiel swallows hard and unabashedly rakes his eyes over Dean’s approaching form. He’s wearing the same work boots, but he’d changed out of his oily clothes into a pair of dark washed straight-legged jeans and a well-fitting grey long sleeve shirt, which had the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. A leather jacket is slung over his shoulders along with a small duffle, not the leather jacket from their college days though, which strikes Castiel as odd. Dean practically lived in that jacket. Chalking it up to the ten-year gap in their friendship, Castiel settles into the passenger seat unconsciously, meeting a knowing glance from Balthazar in the rear-view mirror. Castiel glares at his friend’s reflection and waits for Dean to take his seat.
“Keys, Cas.” Dean holds out a hand and Castiel lays the keys gently into his outstretched palm. If he’d had a clearer head he would have sworn Dean brushed his fingertips over Castiel’s palm but the sensation was too light to linger and Dean’s face gave away no signs that he was feeling anything close to what Castiel was suffering through.
They drove in silence towards the hotel with Balthazar’s phone giving out directions from the backseat. As Dean pulled up to the entrance, Castiel started to unbuckle. “Hey, uh, you guys aren’t hungry are you?” Dean questioned, staring intently at a spot on the steering wheel he was picking at with his fingernails.
“You know, actually, I had a meal on the plane so I’m good, but Cassie here, he hasn’t eaten all day.” Balthazar pipes up from the back seat, leaning forward to put a hand on Castiel’s shoulder in emphasis.
“I was going to order room service.” Castiel states quietly.
“Nonsense!” Balthazar waves a hand through the air to dismiss the thought. “Go, eat a nice meal. Catch up!” Balthazar is out of the car and helping the doorman with their bags before Castiel can make a word of protest. He grabs the last bag and slings it over his shoulder and jogs back to lean through Dean’s open window. “Please, Dean, feed the poor boy. Don’t let him come home unless he’s blacked out in a food coma.” Castiel opens his mouth to protest but Balthazar has already bounded off towards the door, he turns and blows Castiel a goodbye kiss before ducking inside and running off to check in.
“He seems nice.” Dean says, still picking at the same spot.
“Balthazar is, unique.” Castiel finally says, a small smile of fondness spreading across his features.
Dean stiffens slightly and they fall into a tense silence. “You don’t have to eat with me if you don’t want to.” He finally says.
“Would you like me to join you?” Castiel turns his head towards Dean and sees him nod slightly.
“Yeah, I would.” Dean breathes heavily and turns the ignition, the engine humming to life with the exact same rumble as ten years ago. “Cas, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, Dean.” Castiel feels his face flush slightly, whether its from anger or something else entirely, Castiel isn’t sure. He hopes he’s made the right choice.
Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Epilogue |
Moss green, that’s all he could make out. Some kind of swirling color pattern and a flash of tan with spots, spots that got smaller and spread out across the expanse of tan. The colors swirled and twisted and morphed until they formed something recognizable. It turned around and the green was still mossy, but brighter than before, not muddled with the rest of the colors but separate and defined. He heard a name, his name. Cas.
Castiel woke with a gasp as his head hit the passenger window. Groaning softly he pulled himself up in the car and rolled his shoulders to pop the stiffness out of his neck. He unfolds his legs from where they were perched on top of the glove box and stretches the rest of his body out as far as he can in the tiny rental car.
“Ah, you’re up!” Castiel sniffles and rubs the rest of the sleep out of his eyes. He rolls his head over on the seat and squints through one eye at his partner. Balthazar was flashing him a winning smile while taking glances at the road. Castiel groaned again as he straightened up the rest of the way in his seat. “Morning star shine!”
“It’s hardly the morning anymore, Balthazar.” Castiel does one final stretch and with a loud pop, snaps his shoulder back into place.
“You know it’s disgusting when you do that darling, nobody likes to hear bones rub up against bones.” Balthazar pauses slightly then a lewd smile spreads over his face, “or at least not those bones.”
“Balthazar,” Castiel warns.
“Oh hush grumpy,” Balthazar reaches over playfully and fluffs Castiel’s hair. Castiel bats his hand away and settles back down into his seat.
“Where are we?” Castiel mumbles as he leans his forehead against the cool glass.
“Just turned onto the CA-152, should be about a half and hour left.” Castiel grunts in response and they fall into silence. Castiel’s mind is still racing from his dream though. It had been a while since he’d seen that face in his dreams, he wasn’t sure what it was but seeing him now made the trip more nerve wracking. “Hey, Cassie?” Castiel turns his head to catch Balthazar’s glance, “are you okay?”
“Yes, I-“ Balthazar gives Castiel a meaningful look and Castiel sighs heavily, “I just had that dream again.” Balthazar makes a sound of understanding and Castiel continues, “this is also my first convention. I can’t believe I have to make a speech. Uriel didn’t have to prepare anything.”
“That’s because Uriel isn’t the head of the country’s most successful chondrosarcoma research and surgery team.” Castiel huffs and settles back in his seat even more to pout. “Hey, cheer up, it’ll be fun.”
“Talking about bone cancer isn’t ‘fun’ Balthazar.” Castiel scolds as he whips out his phone to check his emails.
“It is if you get absolutely smashed before hand.” Castiel scowled across the car at his friend but Balthazar was too busy smiling to himself to pay attention. They pass the last fifteen minutes in silence, with Castiel either rehearsing his speech in his head or thinking about green eyes from the past. Balthazar seems content with whistling show tunes so Castiel leaves him to it. When they roll into the outskirts of Stanford, the rental suddenly makes a whirring noise; followed by a violent grinding and then a high pitched whining. Balthazar immediately pulls the car over to the side of the main road and flips the flashers. “Jesus, fuck, Cassie!”
Castiel pulls himself out of the car and motions for Balthazar to pop the hood. It’s already steaming and as Castiel lifts it he gets lost in the cloud. He backs away instinctively and strolls over to the driver’s side where Balthazar is looking despairingly at the cloud of rising steam. “Why is it that anywhere I go with you, things just never work out?”
“What are you talking about Cassie? Things are fine! Just a little snag is all.” Balthazar hops out of the car, black cowboy boots crunching on the gravel and pulls out his own phone. “I’ll call a tow and get it sorted. Don’t get your panties in a knot, doll.”
Castiel shoots him another annoyed glance and turns to walk to the other side of the car. Ten minutes later, a black tow truck marked ‘W&W’ pulls up and an older man, dressed in an old trucker hat with some form of long washed away logo, worn out flannel shirt and equally worn jeans hops out of the cab and lumbers over towards the car. Balthazar explains the situation quickly to the tow truck driver and he makes quick work of stringing up the car. Both men climb into the cab of the truck and the load is hauled off towards the nearest garage.
W&W looks like a family establishment. Some form of mom-and-pop operation that probably started out of the Great Depression and has been in the family since then. The historical plaque on the side of the building confirms it was at least built in the 1940’s. As Castiel enters the shop he finds Balthazar flirting with the small blonde woman at the front desk. He’s probably tapping into whatever he has left of his English accent and laying it on thick for that poor child. Castiel smiles to himself and lets his feet carry him around the lobby, studying pictures of old cars and antique photographs of the city. He wanders around the perimeter and catches snippets of the conversation Balthazar is having with the receptionist. He smiles as he hears Balthazar recount his heroic tale or saving a little girl from a rabid hound back when he lived in Liverpool just across the street from where The Beatles had lived. It’s all bullshit, but he wasn’t about to cause a scene so he just laughs quietly to himself and keeps wandering. Eventually Castiel makes it around the whole office, but finds his feet still restless so he sneaks past the front desk and out the back door marked ‘pick-up,’ he’s sure whoever is working on the car isn’t done yet, but he just rode in a car for nearly six hours and he couldn’t sit and wait if he tried. He’s just working his way over to the vending machine to buy a soda when he hears someone call out to him.
“Hey! Hey buddy, you can’t be back here unless your car is ready!” He turns and watches an outrageously tall man stride over to him hurriedly, his shoulder length hair blowing back. Castiel has an image of a runway model from the fashion show Balthazar dragged him to a couple years back, but quickly shakes the image away as the other man steps closer. “Sorry, company policy. We can’t have our customers getting hurt.”
“No, of course, I understand,” Castiel grunts, keeping his eyes firmly on his shoes, “I was just -” he stops as he looks up and finally gets a good look at the taller man’s face. Then his eyes search for a name tag. The generic mechanic overalls are opened to the waist with the torso section tied off to he finds none, but this face is too familiar, he takes a chance and goes with his instincts. “Sam? ”
Sam Winchester steps forward again and squints closely at Castiel’s face. Realization dawns across his features and a smile spreads over his face, “Castiel Novak?” Castiel nods and shakes the hand that Sam extended toward him.
“Man, it’s been - “ Sam starts, rubbing the back of his neck. A nervous tick he probably picked up from Dean.
“Ten years.” Castiel supplies flatly.
“Jesus, ten?” Castiel nods and Sam whistles low. “Well, what brings you here?”
“My car was making strange noises and then just stopped.” Castiel answers, staring off at a space on the wall behind Sam’s head.
“No, I know why you’re here, I meant why are you in California?” Sam gestures around him to indicate the space.
“Oh. I have a medical conference up at the college.” Castiel fumbles with the belt on his trench coat and Sam nods enthusiastically.
“Yeah, yeah I heard about that. Big deal, huh?” Castiel nods slowly and a bell goes off right above his head. Castiel flinches violently and Sam whips his head around to take a quick glance back towards the line of cars. “Look, uh, I gotta get back to work. Just grab a soda and go back to the lobby would you? I’d get murdered if anyone knew you were back here.”
Castiel nods obediently and turns towards the lobby, his thirst forgotten for the time being. Sam is here. But Castiel already knew that, Dean had gushed about him getting accepted to Stanford, he’d just forgotten for a moment. This isn’t a big deal. Just because Sam is here doesn’t mean there’s any chance Dean will be here. At that line of thought, Castiel pauses. Why should it bother him if Dean is here? It’s been ten years. It’s not like he’d been pining after his first love for all that time. Castiel had moved on, had a few short meaningful relationships and a handful of one night stands. He was willing to bet Dean had managed even better than himself in that respect. Castiel shakes himself again, rolling the tension out of his shoulders and re-entering the lobby. He takes a few determined strides and plops down on the leather sofa next to Balthazar.
“And where have you been?” Balthazar questions as he continues to flip through the two year old Time magazine in his hands.
“I took a walk.” Castiel mumbles grumpily. Balthazar eyes him suspiciously but Castiel just huffs and swipes a magazine off of the table. He thumbs through it determinedly and keeps his focus on the magazine so he doesn’t have to face Balthazar’s inquisitive stares. What feels like an eternity rolls by and the girl at the counter finally calls out to them.
“Mr. Novak?” Castiel looks up quickly and she beckons him over. He stops at the counter and glances down at her nametag. Becky. “If you just give me a moment I’ll have your paperwork brought in from the garage.” She taps a button and Castiel hears a faint buzzer go off behind the glass. “Our head mechanic will explain things to you and let you know our plan of action to fix your car. If you could sign this form for the tow,” Becky quickly slides a clipboard and pen up on the counter for him with the appropriate document, “we’ll just factor in the tow into your final price.” Castiel nods politely and leans down to read the paper, his luck, he’d forgotten his reading glasses in the glove box.
A small bell rings to signal someone coming in from the garage and he hears heavy boots come around the corner accompanied by the rustling of papers. “Hey, Becky do me a favor and order some more gloves for the welding station, Chuck just melted his pair. Actually make that two, god knows he’ll use them.” Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. It’s my imagination. It has to be. Castiel keeps his head down and glares at the paper in front of him as he slowly signs his name with a shaky hand. “Novak? Funny, a buddy of mine had -“
Castiel hears the work boots skid to a halt somewhere behind the counter and he takes a deep bracing breath. Sure enough when Castiel lifts his gaze up, from the boots, to the oil stained jeans, to the white grease smeared tank top and finally up past well defined biceps his gaze locks onto those soft green eyes and he feels his internal organs fall this a thud into his feet. Castiel knows he’s staring. He knows the look on his face is harsh, his features drawn back in a form of bristling. Castiel knows it’s childish of him to still feel this way about Dean Winchester. But he can’t stop.
“Cas?” Dean takes a step forward to the counter, his eyes are shining and there’s a small smile spreading across his face.
“Castiel.” Dean’s smile falls immediately but his eyes are still shining with something, but what Castiel couldn’t fathom a guess.
“Right, uh, well, I have bad news.” Dean steps forward, professional mask hiding whatever his face was betraying moments before and he steps up next to Castiel and places the papers in his hands on the counter. “You car -“
“It’s a rental.” Castiel corrects curtly.
“Really? You got ripped off then, bud.” Castiel’s stomach flips at the proximity of Dean, though it shouldn’t. “The transmission’s blown. It will take me a couple days to fix. We only have two other mechanics this weekend and about six cars ahead of you in line.” Castiel sighs and rubs a hand over his forehead. The trip is being paid for by the hospital, but he doesn’t have the time to look for another rental right now. He was supposed to check into the hotel a half an hour ago. “It gets worse though, I don’t know if you picked up anything about cars since -“ Castiel gives him a cold glare and Dean stops his train of thought, “uh, but this job will cost maybe two grand if you’re lucky, five if you aren’t.”
“Money isn’t a problem.” Castiel states.
“Oh,” Dean is taken aback by the comment and Castiel realizes now that he’d been rude.
“Apologies, I meant my employer would pay. I’m going to the medical conference at Stanford this weekend. So, any bills should be faxed over to the hospital.” Castiel isn’t sure why he’d told Dean that, but Dean’s eyebrows rise in interest so he doesn’t feel like a complete fool.
“So? Dr. Novak?” Castiel nods a small smile of pride spreading across his face. “Congrats, Castiel.”
“Thank you, Dean.” Dean nods and flashes him a small smile back, it makes Castiel’s fingers tingle but he calmly tells himself to get a grip.
“Oy! Cassie!” Balthazar calls as he strolls up next to him on the counter. “Oh, hey, who’s your friend, darling?” He nearly pushes Castiel out of the way as he leans forward to leer at Dean.
“Dean, this is my partner Balthazar.” Castiel motions between the two and Dean’s face falls again.
“Partner?” Dean’s voice cracks slightly on the word but Castiel barely notices.
“Sure thing,” Balthazar chimes as he holds a hand out, “partners for, what is it now, four years, love?”
“Five.” Castiel corrects softly, studying the paperwork closely and signing his name where necessary.
“Ah, yes, five blissful years with this lug.” Balthazar’s smile is ear to ear but Dean can only muster a small smirk. “Pleasure to meet you, mister?”
“Dean, Dean Winchester.” Dean finally grabs the offered hand and gives a firm shake.
“Dean?” Balthazar’s eyebrows shoot straight up to his hairline and his smile nearly splits his face, “Cassie, this isn’t the De-“ Castiel cuts Balthazar off with a quick jab to the ribs with his elbow and a warning glare. Balthazar recovers smoothly and squeezes once again on Dean’s hand, “An absolute pleasure.”
“I’m sure,” Dean says speculatively. Balthazar answers with another winning smile.
Castiel clears his throat and slides the paperwork over to Becky who had been staring at the exchange with wide eyes and a devilish grin on her face. “That should be everything. Here’s my business card with the hospital’s information on it. Send the bill over as soon as possible, if you can.” Becky nods and rolls around to the other side of the desk and begins checking the paperwork.
“Balthazar, would you call a taxi, my phone is nearly dead.” Balthazar nods and starts to google taxi services when Dean clears his throat pointedly. Both men turn to stare at him.
“I could drive you.” Dean offers.
“I wouldn’t want to burden you. You said you were busy.” Castiel states.
“It’s actually my dinner break.” Dean defends.
“Oh.” Castiel can’t think of a reason not to let Dean drive them, if he’s indeed willing. Other than the fact that being in his presence is making Castiel feel like he’s twenty again. Castiel continues to stare at Dean for what in reality is only a second or two, but it feels like an hour.
Balthazar takes a moment to glance between the two of them and then finally clears his throat, “we greatly appreciate it, don’t we Cassie?” Balthazar returns the earlier jab to the ribs and Castiel snaps out of his trance and nods.
Dean smiles at Castiel and nods also, “Okay, great, your car is open so you can grab your stuff, I’ll meet you out back.” He turns to head to what looks like an office, before turning back, “oh, yeah, here,” Dean tosses the keys and Castiel snatches them out of the air. “just put your stuff in the trunk or whatever.” Castiel nods and starts to lead Balthazar out towards the garage. “And, Cas?” Castiel turns, not bothering to correct the nickname again, “be careful with her.”
Castiel’s calm breaks into a small amused smile, “I remember, Dean.” Dean’s eyes sparkle with humor and they part ways.
Castiel is pushing their luggage into the trunk if the Impala when Balthazar finally confronts him about what happened inside.
“Cassie.” Castiel stops shuffling the luggage to take a step back and meet his friend’s concerned gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course.” He’s not. His stomach is fluttering in ways it hasn’t for ten years and he can’t get the image of Dean’s eyes out of his head. If he isn’t careful he’s going to fall hard for Dean again and he just doesn’t have the time or energy to deal with something like that a second time. Balthazar gives him a skeptical look and Castiel shrugs it off, proceeding to pack the car a little more intensely than he had previously. He slams the trunk down as Dean exits the main building. Castiel swallows hard and unabashedly rakes his eyes over Dean’s approaching form. He’s wearing the same work boots, but he’d changed out of his oily clothes into a pair of dark washed straight-legged jeans and a well-fitting grey long sleeve shirt, which had the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. A leather jacket is slung over his shoulders along with a small duffle, not the leather jacket from their college days though, which strikes Castiel as odd. Dean practically lived in that jacket. Chalking it up to the ten-year gap in their friendship, Castiel settles into the passenger seat unconsciously, meeting a knowing glance from Balthazar in the rear-view mirror. Castiel glares at his friend’s reflection and waits for Dean to take his seat.
“Keys, Cas.” Dean holds out a hand and Castiel lays the keys gently into his outstretched palm. If he’d had a clearer head he would have sworn Dean brushed his fingertips over Castiel’s palm but the sensation was too light to linger and Dean’s face gave away no signs that he was feeling anything close to what Castiel was suffering through.
They drove in silence towards the hotel with Balthazar’s phone giving out directions from the backseat. As Dean pulled up to the entrance, Castiel started to unbuckle. “Hey, uh, you guys aren’t hungry are you?” Dean questioned, staring intently at a spot on the steering wheel he was picking at with his fingernails.
“You know, actually, I had a meal on the plane so I’m good, but Cassie here, he hasn’t eaten all day.” Balthazar pipes up from the back seat, leaning forward to put a hand on Castiel’s shoulder in emphasis.
“I was going to order room service.” Castiel states quietly.
“Nonsense!” Balthazar waves a hand through the air to dismiss the thought. “Go, eat a nice meal. Catch up!” Balthazar is out of the car and helping the doorman with their bags before Castiel can make a word of protest. He grabs the last bag and slings it over his shoulder and jogs back to lean through Dean’s open window. “Please, Dean, feed the poor boy. Don’t let him come home unless he’s blacked out in a food coma.” Castiel opens his mouth to protest but Balthazar has already bounded off towards the door, he turns and blows Castiel a goodbye kiss before ducking inside and running off to check in.
“He seems nice.” Dean says, still picking at the same spot.
“Balthazar is, unique.” Castiel finally says, a small smile of fondness spreading across his features.
Dean stiffens slightly and they fall into a tense silence. “You don’t have to eat with me if you don’t want to.” He finally says.
“Would you like me to join you?” Castiel turns his head towards Dean and sees him nod slightly.
“Yeah, I would.” Dean breathes heavily and turns the ignition, the engine humming to life with the exact same rumble as ten years ago. “Cas, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, Dean.” Castiel feels his face flush slightly, whether its from anger or something else entirely, Castiel isn’t sure. He hopes he’s made the right choice.
Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Epilogue |