Hunger

At first, Castiel thinks his vessel is broken. There are many things he does not know about humans and this odd feeling in his vessel's gut is one of them. Strange noises are emitted from this area and when Castiel hears them he quickly bends down to listen. He concludes from the noises and the sensation that someone is tying knots in his vessel's stomach, that the body is trying to speak to him, tell him something. He does not understand.

Castiel is not always in this state. He is too busy and can go hours without feeling or noticing this confusing sensation. However, when he pauses for a few moments and things calm down and he can spare some time to breathe, it comes back, at times with a vengeance. His brothers had told him that vessel's need taking care of but now he wishes there had been a manual of sorts, like the one's he'd seen when the Winchester's would buy packaged goods from stores. On Earth, many things comes with instruction and Castiel likes this.

He considers asking Dean, but the hunter is always rushing from place to place. Dean is busy, and Sam is with him and Castiel has other things on his mind. When they work together no moment seems opportune to discuss his concerns. Castiel finds his moment anyway, though he did not mean to or expect it.

The Winchester's stop frequently when they drive from one county to the next. Castiel learns the difference between drive-in's and diners and understands why they call the substance served "fast-food". The Winchester's don't always sit in the establishments, the food is fast enough to be delivered to their hands so that they may leave right away, but they have sat in for a lunch or dinner. There is a time that Castiel joins them and he watches the going's on with interest. He sits quietly, declines a coffee and stares blankly at the menu when it is given to him. The waitress frequents their table more than she does the others and at first Castiel thinks that she is being merely polite but when he notices the way her cheeks redden and her smile brightens when either Dean or Sam, particularly Dean, speak to her, he thinks he's missing a point.

Dean orders a burger with fries and Sam doubles the order for himself. Castiel nods at the waitress when she asks if he'd like the same. When she is at a sufficient distance he looks toward the brothers.

"Why does she refer to me as 'honey'?"

Sam chuckles and Dean rolls his eyes and though Castiel does not take that as much of an answer he likes the way Sam reacts differently to Dean and Dean to Sam. It reminds him of the complexity of human beings. He does not interact much with others, so he takes special care to pay attention to the two that he does. This results in him generalizing some things that are not always true, but overall it leads to him feeling more and more at home with His creations. He likes humans.

"It's a pet-name," Sam explains.

Castiel frowns. "I am not a pet," he replies, wondering how the woman might have mistaken him for a house animal.

Dean sighs. "Not an actual pet, Cas"

"Sorry, I should have said a nick-name," Sam picks up apologetically. "It's just a term kind of like 'sweetie' or 'hun'," he continues.

Castiel nods slowly. "I have not heard either of you use these terms before."

Sam looks at him with a slightly open mouth and shrugs. "Not everyone uses it, I guess, it's just a habit for some people, I don't know."

"I see."

"Don't make it a habit," Dean chimes in, spying their platter of food coming from the kitchen doors. He smiles happily as his burger and fries is set down before him.

Castiel watches Dean with interest. He has often seen him smile in this way regarding edible provisions and he enjoys seeing it appear again and again on Dean's face. He notices that smile's are not singular or universal but very particular to the human from which they are emitted and various in shape and form, like humans themselves. Sam has a large mouth so he can smile wide, but he can also pinch his lips together and curl them up into an oddly shaped grin. It fascinates Castiel.

When they all have their plates and the smell of beef and cheese reaches him, a loud rumbling sound fills the air. Dean pauses mid-bite and puts down his burger and Sam hides his laugh behind his hand. Castiel feels the tightening in his vessel's gut again and his brows come down. Now seems opportune.

"Dean, I have been meaning to ask. My vessel is experiencing peculiar sensations here," and he takes the time to pat his abdomen and stomach. "Are these noises customary?"

"Seriously?" Dean asks with a raised brow. "It's called hunger Cas, you're hungry." He spares Sam a glance and bites into his burger with relish.

"Hunger," Castiel repeats. He is familiar with the term and has wondered when it would affect him. As an Angel he has never experienced such a thing but he has watched Dean and Sam eat enough food to make the connection and understand the correct response. He eyes the burger and opts to begin with a fry. Castiel takes a small bite and chews thoroughly. The fries are greasy and salty, crunchy at first but immediately soft when he chews them. "How often does this occur?"

Sam sips his cola and smiles at him. "Depends, you can go for hours and not feel hungry, other times you feel it every hour. Every metabolism is different."

Castiel listens and stuffs three fries in his mouth, licking one of his fingers subconsciously. "I do not enjoy feeling hungry."

Dean speaks through his full mouth with a mumble. "Then eat."

So he does, and at first he cannot comprehend how the more he eats the hungrier he feels until he's finished his platter, burger and all, and his stomach does not just feel satiated but distended. An internal gurgling travels up through his vessel and he belches loudly. This helps ease the swollen feeling and he sits back with a sigh.

Dean stares at him and Sam laughs openly, elbowing Dean in amusement. "I think he's got the hang of it," Sam says between breaths.

"Cas, wipe your mouth." Dean chucks a napkin across the table and watches the angel rub his lips into the tissue, looking a little sleepy though, reminding himself that angels don't sleep the heavy eyes he ascribes to feeling pleased after the meal. "You good?"

Castiel begins to answer but the waitress interrupts with the check and stays at the table as Sam counts out the bills. She smiles at the three of them. "Enjoy your meals?"

"I am no longer hungry," Castiel informs her. "Thank you."

She twirls a finger in her air and nods. "Glad you liked it, honey."

Dean watches her wink at Cas and rolls his eyes. "Let's go," he says and slide out of his seat, nodding at the waitress as he leaves.

As they walk toward the Impala, Castiel looks down his stomach and touches it gingerly. "Hunger," he repeats to himself. Castiel mentally files away this information in his head and saves an image of a burger and fries next to it. Castiel likes burgers. He is glad his vessel is not broken and tells himself he has yet much to learn.