This fic has been a long time coming. I've been thinking about writing it since I saw Ten Inch Hero. Happens after Ten Inch Hero, without Priestly and Tish getting together, so they never found out his name. Takes place after Sam goes to Hell for Supernatural. Hope you enjoy.
Priestly hums as he works the grill. It was some old rock song, something he remembered from long drives and empty roads. The tinkling of the bell above the door signals customers coming and going. Jen's keyboard clacks as she takes orders and communicates with Fuzzy22, aka Jeff, her online boyfriend. Piper is painting the back wall, humming a more recent tune as she finishes the beach scene. Tish is blatantly flirting with any male customer that happens to walk through the door and Trucker is doing… something. Priestly continues humming and nodding along to his song, ignoring those around him, as he finishes the sandwiches and starts on the next ones. The bell tinkles as some new customer enters their small shop.
Tish lets out a low whistle. "Oh baby." She breathes out, obviously finding the customer attractive.
"Down girl." Piper tells her friend, not looking up from the painting. Priestly ignores the two girls, instead focusing on the meat and vegetables in front of him.
"Hello, how may I help you today?" Tish greets the customer, her voice overly bright and cheery. Priestly rolls his eyes at her familiar game.
"I am looking for someone." A gruff, oddly familiar, voice replies. Priestly tenses over the grill, his eyes widening almost comically.
"Well, you've come to the right place, 'cause you've found 'em." Tish flirts. Out of the corner of his eye Priestly sees her lean forward. Somehow he knows that the customer's head will be tilted and his eyes narrowed. He steps away from the grill and hands off his spatula to Trucker as he passes. He lays a hand on Tish's shoulder and turns her to face him.
"I think I better handle this one Tish." He comments, still not looking at the customer directly. Tish sits up and rolls her eyes at him.
"Why? Know something I don't?" She asks him, her arms crossing over her chest. Priestly almost growls at her, resisting the temptation to look at the customer.
"Yeah, I do actually." Priestly replies harshly. Tish raises her eyebrows at him.
"What?" She demands. Priestly glances over just long enough to confirm his suspicions, the glimpse revealing a tan overcoat, blue tie, and ruffled brown hair.
"His name." He turns to the counter and looks the customer in the eyes for the first time since he walked in. Familiar dark blue eyes stare back at him from beneath messy dark brown, almost black, hair. "Hey Cas."
The blue eyes widen as they take in his green mohawk, his eyeliner, piercings, tattoos, and black shirt that reads 'meh'. The eyes flicker back up to his own green ones and study him closely.
"Hello Dean." He finally responds. Dean grins at him in a familiar way.
"Dean?" Piper and Tish ask as one. He turns back to face them and shrugs.
"What, did you think I had some weird name like Boaz or something?" He asks them with one brow raised. The two girls look at each other sheepishly and nod. Dean rolls his eyes and sighs in exasperation. "Really?
"You wouldn't tell us! What were we supposed to think?" Piper defends them. Dean scoffs.
"Dean. I need to talk to you." Cas says, bringing the mohawked man's attention back to him. Dean turns and looks at him warily. "It is very important, or I would not have attempted to find you." Cas assures him. Dean shakes his head at the angel.
"Look, Cas, I'm out. I'm not doing that any more, I promised Sa-. I said I wouldn't." Dean lets out a shaky breath, not used to talking about his brother. He hasn't even said his name in a year, though he's never far from his mind. Cas looks at him sadly, understanding clear in his eyes.
"Hey, you okay?" Trucker asks, coming to stand beside Dean. Dean nods at him, keeping his eyes trained on the angel in front of him. "Look, uh, Cas-"
"Castiel." Cas corrects. Dean's chest tightens and his mouth forms a small smile at that.
"Uh, Castiel, Priestly, or Dean as you know him, doesn't seem to want to go with you. I'm not sure what happened between to two of you, but he's moved on buddy." The older ex-military hippy tells the man in the rumpled trench coat. Jen, Piper, and Tish stand around him too, defending his choice. Cas's eyes flicker to all of them before settling back on Dean's. Dean would turn and smile at them if he wasn't lost in the familiar blue pools in front of him.
"Dean, I have always come when you called. I only wish for you to stand by me now, when I need you most." Castiel implores. Dean's shoulders slump and his face softens as he looks into his friend's eyes. He shuts his eyes and nods, turning to face the group around him.
"It's okay guys. Me and Cas need to talk, so, is it okay if I take my break now?" Dean asks his boss, and friend, Trucker. He older man looks at him for a moment before nodding.
"Sure Priestly, whatever you need." Trucker assures him, offering his support as he always does. Dean nods and jumps over the counter, tugging on Castiel's shoulder to get him to follow him out of the shop. He turns the corner and stops in the alley beside Beach City Grill, Cas right behind him.
"Okay Cas, what do you need?" He asks once they're alone.
"I need your help with Heaven, Dean. Raphael is trying to restart the Apocalypse." Castiel explains curtly. Dean sighs and drags his hand down his face, not caring what happens to his makeup.
"Cas, I- I can't. I promised Sam that after he- after he died, I wouldn't hunt anymore. That I'd settle down." Dean tells his, no, (Cas is not his, no matter how much-) the angel. "I want to, believe me, I do. But I can't, I just can't."
Cas looks at him with his big blue eyes and such a heartbroken expression that Dean starts contemplating saying yes to the feathery dude.
"Cas." Dean sighs and looks away from the dark blue eyes. "I'll help as much as I can, but I can't go on the road. I've built something here, I'm as happy as I've ever been, considering. But if you need something, something that I can do from here, don't hesitate to ask." Dean looks back at the angel and sees a glimmer of a smile on his face.
"Thank you Dean. It means a lot that you would stand by me, when not many would. I do not mean to disrupt your life here." Castiel puts his hand on Dean's shoulder, exactly where his hand print used to rest. It surprises Dean that even though the mark no longer has a place on his shoulder, he still feels the same rush that would accompany any touch to the scar. He suppresses a shiver and looks deep into Castiel's eyes, the familiar sight bringing back memories he had long ago repressed. He smiles at the angel, thankful that he contacted him instead of doing as the Winchesters had always done, something end of the world stupid.
"Just, stay in touch, okay? It's nice seeing a familiar face for once." Dean requests. Castiel nods and lets his hand slide off of his shoulder.
"Perhaps I could direct Bobby over here." Castiel suggests. Dean grins at him and nods.
"Yeah, that'd be great." Dean agrees.
"Hey, Priestly, uh Dean, we need you back in he-" Piper's voice cuts off when she rounds the corner and sees how close the two friends are standing. "Or, uh, I think Trucker can manage." Her face is bright red and her eyes keep flickering between Dean and Castiel. Dean steps back and clears his throat.
"No, it's fine. We were just catching up, that's all." Dean says, glancing back to Cas's face. "I'll see you soon, yeah?"
"Yes Dean. I will tell Bobby to visit soon." Castiel agrees, turning to walk away. Before he does Dean catches his arm.
"Uh, maybe not tell him it's me, okay? Just tell him there's, uh…" Dean's eyes flicker over to Piper before settling back on Castiel's. "Tell him there's some good hunting in Santa Cruz. And don't forget to tell him to come to Beach City Grill. Got that?" Cas nods and Dean releases his hold on the angel. Dean watches him disappear around the back of the restaurant, knowing that he's going to fly away as soon as he's around the corner. "Damn angel." Dean mutters under his breath, not aware that Piper has joined his side until her hand rests on his shoulder. Dean turns his head and sees her standing there.
"We'll talk after closing?" She questions, tilting her head. Dean nods and follows her back into the sandwich shop.
"Alright, what I miss?" He asks as soon as he re-enters the shop, switching easily back to Priestly's over the top attitude. The other workers and the scattered customers look over to him with expectant expressions. He ignores them as he steps back behind the counter and picks up his spatula.
"Two turkeys, six-inches each. And a ten inch veggie." Jen tells him once she realizes that he's not going to talk about what happened.
"Awesome." He remarks, starting up the grill and tossing on the ingredients. He starts humming again, the tune changing from his earlier song to something softer. He ignores the stares on the back of his head for a few moments before he snaps. "Alright, what?"
"We're just worried about you Priestly. You don't talk about your life very much." Jen informs him. Dean sighs and rubs his temples.
"I appreciate it, but I'm fine. It was just a surprise, that's all." Dean tells them. He had changed a lot, but he still wasn't prepared to talk about his feelings with anyone.
"After closing, you're telling us everything." Piper insists. Dean sighs and reluctantly nods.
"Now, can I get back to work?" He asks, pointedly looking at the two customers that had just entered the shop. The others quickly turn back to their work and leave him alone for the rest of the day. Which leaves him to his thoughts, something that he isn't sure if he likes. Closing time comes around a lot sooner than he expects and suddenly he's being cornered by the people he's come to know as his friends.
"So, who's Cas?" Tish is the first to speak. Soon everyone is asking him questions, their voices combining until he can't make out who's asking him what. Slams his fist on the counter and silences them.
"I should probably start from the beginning. You might think I'm crazy, but I swear that it's all true." He starts. They all nod and he sighs before continuing.
"First off, my name isn't Priestly. It's Dean Winchester. I was born in Lawrence, Kansas. My mother was Mary Campbell. My father was John Winchester, and my brother was Sam. When I was four years old Mary was killed by a demon. Five years ago my dad was killed by that same demon, and later that year I tanked that son of a bitch. See, me and my brother, we used to hunt monsters. Every single think you thought was under your bed, and a few you probably never heard of, we hunted them all. Four years ago I sold my soul to bring Sam back from the dead. Three years ago I went to hell and was tortured until I picked up the knife and started torturing others. Two years ago an angel of The Lord carried my ass out of the pit and rebelled against Heaven for me. That was Cas by the way. And last year, me and my brother stopped the Apocalypse." Dean pauses, thinking back to that day, the look on his brothers face as he jumped to his death, taking their other brother with him.
"The Apocalypse? As in, fire and brimstone, biblical war, Apocalypse?" Jen asks him, her eyes wide.
"Yeah. Probably hard for you guys to imagine, but before I came here I didn't have all this stuff on me, didn't look like this at all really. I doubt Sammy would recognize me if he- But that's just it, he can't. See me and my brother, we were vessels. For Michael and Lucifer. But, uh, we didn't exactly play by their rules. In fact, we kinda threw away the rule book. Instead of saying 'yes' and destroying the world, we fought. We fought to keep the world as it is. But things never work out the way you want them too. The angel's found another vessel for Mikey, our half-brother Adam, Sam said yes to Satan, and they got ready to battle it out. That's where I stepped in, couldn't live in a world without my brothers. Sam, he, uh, he managed to take control. Opened the door to Lucifer's Cage, grabbed Adam, and jumped." Dean pauses to wipe the tears that threaten to spill from his eyes.
"Before he said yes, Sam made me promise that I would stop hunting, and settle down with this girl, Lisa. Obviously that didn't happen. She was someone from my past, someone that reminded me of Sammy, and I couldn't. I just couldn't. So I cut off all ties to Dean Winchester and came here." Dean pulls down his t-shirt collar and shows the tattoos on his neck. "These keep me hidden from anyone looking to find me using supernatural means. Probably why it took Cas so long to find me." Dean chuckles sadly and reaches up to remove his piercings. The silver slides out of his skin and plinks on the table as he removes each of them. He looks up at the shocked and surprised faces of his friends.
"That's a hell of a story." Trucker comments. Dean tenses, preparing himself for their denial, for their rejection. It never comes. Instead he's wrapped in the strong arms of the people he's spent the last year getting to know. He hugs them back for a second before breaking away again.
"Well, now that that's over, how about you ask me whatever questions you have." He tells them, clearing his throat after hearing how gravely his voice is.
"You and Cas. More than just friends I take it?" Piper questions, raising an eyebrow at him. Dean groans and buries his face in his hands.
"For the love of- No! I may be bisexual, but me and Cas are not together! Why does everyone assume..." Dean trails off, not bothering to end his question.
"Could be all the eye sex." Tosh answers bluntly. Dean's head snaps up and he gapes at her. "What? If what we saw in the shop was even half as much eye sex as you used to have, no wonder everyone thought you were a thing."
"You did look at each other a lot." Jen adds, unhelpfully.
"And when I came to check on you in the alley, you were standing awfully close for two friends." Piper adds. Dean looks between the three of them in shock.
"Sorry to say it Dean, but you've got it bad. And Castiel looks like he's in the same boat." Trucker confirms.
"I just told you that monsters are real and that I used to hunt them for a living until my brothers died averting the Apocalypse, and, and you want to talk about my relationship with Cas?!" Dean asks them incredulously. They nod at him and he stands, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Great, it's like talking to a bunch of Sam's! You probably want me to talk about my 'feelings' next, huh? Well screw that! I came here to forget that life, and I'm not gonna let you dig it all back up!" He yells, reverting back to his old temperament.
"Dean, I know that we never really got along, but I consider you a friend, just like everyone else here. If you don't want to talk, we won't make you." Tishri assures him. Dean laughs dryly.
"You know, if I met you before the Apocalypse, I probably would have hit on you." He tells the brunette.
"I'm gonna take that as a complement." The group laughs, though it's slightly nervous.
"Are we safe?" Piper asks suddenly. "I mean, now that we know what's out there?"
"You're in just as much danger as you were before you found out, but now you know there's something out there. You're probably safer now." Dean reassures her. He knows that she's thinking of Noah and Julia, and he can't blame her for worrying. Sometimes he thinks about Lisa and Ben and feels that same worry.
"Okay, I'm sure we all need to head on home, most of us have people waiting for us." Trucker reminds them. Dean nods and smiles gratefully at the older man.
"Uh, don't, don't mention this to anyone. The less people that know I'm here, the better. I don't want to put anyone in danger for being who I was. As far as anyone knows, I'm Priestly, and that's that." Dean requests.
"Sure thing Priestly." Trucker agrees, winking at him. Dean smiles and laughs, scooping up his piercings and putting them in his pocket. He stands and grabs his bag from the back room.
"All right, I'm heading home. Gotta get my beauty rest." He remarks, opening the front door and slipping out after waving goodbye. He hears someone else leave, heading in the opposite direction, and he continues walking. Before going home he stops by a storage facility and pulls out a key. He unlocks one of the storage boxes and walks in, turning on a light he keeps in there. Before him a large object is covered by a grey tarp. He removes the tarp and the black paint of his 1967 Chevy Impala gleams in the light of the old lamp he found at a thrift store.
"Hey baby. Sorry it's been so long since I visited, I've been pretty busy." He tells the car, running his hand against the smooth metal of her hood. "Cas found me. Said he needs some help with Heaven. Who knows, you might get some use." He glances around the storage room one last time before turning and leaving, locking up after himself. He returns home and goes to the shower, washing out the green in his hair, revealing the mousy blonde hair he grew up with. He collapses into his bed and dreams of Hell for the first time in years. He dreams of this bluish white light grasping his arm and pulling him away from whatever victim he was cutting into at the time. He wakes up with the words 'Dean Winchester is saved' ringing in his ears.