Strange and Beautiful Part 8
Part 8
Then:
Lawrence, Kansas 1998. Summer.
“Where’s Sam?” Cas asked as he hauled the last of his bags in the car. He was taking an afternoon flight to New York, and Dean was at his house to see him off.
“I told him you were leaving today, but he said he was busy,” Dean said. “You know that kid, once he starts doing something, he can’t leave it alone until he’s done.”
“Right,” Cas said in agreement. He can’t help but feel disappointed that Sam wasn’t there to see him off. “Give this to him for me then…” he said, pulling out a small box from his coat pocket and handing it to Dean.
“What’s this?” Dean asked.
“It’s a really late birthday present. I forgot to give him one this year.”
“Oh, okay,” Dean said as he pocketed the box. “You ready to go?” he asked.
Cas nodded. “I’m ready.”
New York, 1998. Autumn.
“Is Sam there?” Cas asked while he was on the phone with Dean.
“Yeah, he’s here. He’s doing some homework in the dining room. You know he only grew an inch this summer? Most of his classmates are starting to tower over him.”
Cas smiled as he looked out of his window. “He’ll grow eventually. I mean, you grew tall too.”
“Yeah, but when we were that age, we were taller.”
“He’s a baby moose, remember? He’ll grow.”
Lawrence, Kansas. 1998. Autumn.
“Where’s Sam?” Cas asked Dean as they sat around in the Winchesters’ living room.
“He’s out with his friends,” Dean said. “Won’t be back until midnight.”
“Oh,” Cas said, trying not to sound too disappointed.
“Dude, will you be back for Christmas?”
“It depends,” Cas said. “Maybe Dad will just fly out to New York. Spend the Christmas there instead. He actually gets along really well with my uncle.”
“Oh, okay. So you and your dad got plans for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow or…?”
“Yeah. I’m cooking for my dad. As usual.”
New York, 1999. Spring.
“Sam scored a goal in the Championship game? That’s great,” Cas said happily over the phone. He flipped through his book uninterestedly as he listened to Dean.
“Yeah. Kid’s got talent for the sport. Definitely better than me,” Dean said proudly.
“I wish I could’ve watched the game…”
New York. 1999. Autumn.
“Sam and Ruby?” Cas asked.
“Yeah,” Dean confirmed.
Cas felt a pang in his gut… like he had lost Sam for good. He didn’t know why he felt that way. He should be happy for Sam. Happy that he found somebody else…
“I never liked that Ruby girl. She looks like trouble,” Dean said.
“I’m sure...” Cas paused, moving his phone from one ear to the next and trying quell that uneasy feeling in his stomach. “I’m sure she’s great. Sam did pick her.”
“Meh,” Dean made a noncommittal sound. “He could’ve done much better.”
New York. 2000. Spring
“She left Sam… for a guy named Alistair?” Cas asked incredulously.
“I know. Who even names their kid Alistair anyway?” Dean asked. “I knew that girl was trouble.”
“How is he handling it?” Cas asked. He felt sorry for Sam, but at the same time, oddly relieved that Ruby didn’t turn out to be the perfect match for him. And now he felt terrible for even thinking that. He didn’t know what was wrong with him.
“He was angry for a little while… but he seems to be taking it really well,” Dean commented. “Seems like he doesn’t even care.”
“Huh.”
Lawrence, Kansas. 2001. Spring.
Cas saw Sam from afar. He wanted to eat burgers at his favorite place, but the moment he got there, he spotted Sam sitting at a booth by the window, laughing with his friends.
He watched him for a little while, admiring how much he had grown since he last saw him. If he stood up, maybe he was almost the same height as Cas. He felt proud, for some reason. And oddly saddened. “You’ve grown a lot, baby moose,” he said to no one in particular.
He didn’t end up getting any burgers.
+++
He ran into Sam later that day, and the surprised look on his face made his heart ache. He suddenly realized how much he missed Sam, and how much he wished he could turn back time and become friends with him again. Memories of all the times they spent together, watching TV, doing homework, or kicking the ball in the yard, it all came flooding back, and Cas felt like he never wanted to leave again.
Then Sam’s friend called out to him and the spell was broken.
They could never go back. He lost Sam a long time ago.
Now:
Dean was visiting for the weekend.
Sam and Cas decided to treat him to a steak dinner at Carver’s Place. The look on Dean’s face was priceless when he saw the menu.
“$160? Dude, are you kidding me? What is this, meat from cows fed with gold plated grass? I might get indigestion from this.”
“Relax, Dean,” Sam said, grinning. “You’re not paying for any of this, so chow down.”
Dean looked at the two of them skeptically. “Well, alright,” he said before taking his first bite. He groaned obscenely, “This is… ugh, this is heaven.”
Cas smiled as he sipped his wine.
“Perks of having a lawyer brother and a lawyer friend, huh?” Dean asked, as he ate another piece enthusiastically.
“Cas and I are dating,” Sam suddenly blurted out.
Dean choked on his steak. “What?!” he managed to get out before chugging down a glass of water.
Cas frowned as he looked at Sam. “I believe when you said you were going to take care of this, that you actually had a plan instead of just randomly blurting it out.”
Sam shrugged. “I know my brother, okay? He’ll think you’re joking unless you say it straight to the point,” Sam said.
“Wait, wait, wait, just wait a minute here…” Dean said, waving his hands wildly in front of him to stop the two from talking. “You’re going out? Seriously?” he asked with a comically incredulous look on his face.
“Seriously,” Sam said.
Dean looked at Sam’s expectant face, then at Cas’ serious one, back and forth like he was still trying to process what they were saying. “So. You two?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Sam confirmed. “So, are you gonna give us your blessing or not?” Sam asked.
“Blessing?” Dean said in disbelief. “Why the heck would you need my blessing? You’re free to do whatever you want, man.”
“Does this mean you’re fine with me having a relationship with your brother?” Cas asked.
“Sure!” Dean said, his face splitting into a wide grin. “This is awesome news, man!” Dean said, reaching across the table to pat Sam and Cas on the shoulder. “I mean, you couldn’t have picked a better person. Cas is great!”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence, Dean,” Cas said seriously.
“Oh shit!” Dean cursed all of a sudden.
“What?” Sam asked in concern. Dean didn’t suddenly remember a reason why he’d have to object to Sam and Cas’ relationship, right? The look of alarm on Dean’s face made Sam feel cold all over.
“Lisa’s got the seating arrangements all planned out for the reception. Now she’s gonna have to do it again so you two can sit together,” Dean said, dread painting his face white with each word. “This is gonna be hell.”
Sam breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. “You’ll figure something out,” Sam reassured Dean.
“You don’t understand,” Dean mumbled, even as he continued eating. “Lisa get’s this possessed look on her face when it comes to the wedding preparations… oh this steak is so good…”
Cas smiled, and Sam sensed his posture relax a bit when Dean reacted positively to their news. “This is going better than you expected?” Sam asked Cas quietly.
“I imagined he’d do a whole ‘you make my baby brother cry and I’ll kill you’ speech, but this is much better indeed,” Cas answered, voice soft enough for only Sam to hear.
“Come to think of it,” Dean said as he turned to Cas, “I should thank you actually because for a long time I was worried Sam wasn’t gonna find anyone, you know? ‘Cause none of his relationships ever lasted. Bunch of one night stands… It was terrible.”
Sam gave Cas an embarrassed look and turned to Dean, “Okay, Dean, we get it…”
“He even slept with his law school rival once. Brady, was it?”
“Dean please!” Sam said in alarm.
“Brady?” Cas said, frowning. “Isn’t that-“
Sam chuckled nervously. “I was a first year. Not my brightest moment,” Sam tried to explain.
“And I guess I never realized until now why you always asked about Sam when we talk on the phone, Cas,” Dean went on.
It was Cas’ turn to be embarrassed, and Sam couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. “You asked about me?” he asked him.
“Oh yeah, he asked about you a lot. I remember how heartbroken he was when you two fought or something and you started avoiding him,” Dean revealed.
“You were?” Sam asked in disbelief.
The embarrassment on Cas’ face increased tenfold and Sam had to stop himself from grabbing Cas and dragging him to the comfort room so he could explain while Sam got him naked and had his way with him in the stall.
“How come I never knew about this before?” Sam asked Dean.
But before Dean could answer, Cas had presented him the only thing that could shut him up. “Dessert menu, Dean? They have a great selection of pies.”
Dean’s face absolutely lit up. “Pie?”
Sam looked at Cas with an amused expression. “He’s not even finished eating yet, why are you showing him pie?”
“Dude, gimme that,” Dean said, grabbing the menu from Cas’ fingers and perusing the pie selection, the earlier track of their conversation long gone from his mind.
Sam leaned back in his seat and chuckled in defeat. “You win this one,” he told Cas.
“Don’t worry,” Cas said as he continued eating his own meal. “I’ll make it up to you later at home,” he said, and just then Sam felt Cas’ hand rest against his thigh.
“I’m counting on it,” Sam said with a smirk that only got bigger when Cas’ hand started moving up his thigh.
Now he couldn’t wait to get rid of Dean and go home. Maybe he can get away with letting Dean sleep in his apartment while he slept in Cas’ tonight. It was a challenge he was definitely more than willing to go through.
THE END.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading this fic! I'm going to be honest and say I wanna write more of this verse, so if you're interested, please do come back some time for another visit. :)
Back to Fic Masterpost
Visit the Art Masterpost