Author's Note: Written for Paradoxical Weather Girl. I hope the drabble-babble type thing is alright with you. If it's not, just lemme know and I'll rectify it. Or attempt to, anyway...And there's a little alternate ending to Occupancy in here, so maybe you'll stop calling me a serial killer X)

Melody pushed her finger to the doorbell and the dinging, muffled chime sounded in accordance. She wondered yet again if she was making the right choice coming here. After all, the person she was consulting could be very difficult, even if he was talented. But she supposed the worst he could do was tell her no.

Just when she thought she'd waited long enough and he wasn't going to answer, the door opened and Castiel poked his head out. He studied her for a moment and then scowled, raising a brow. "How do you know where I live?"

Hello, Castiel, it's nice to see you too, Melody thought wryly. "Your home address is written in your file."

He gave a grunt and opened the door a little wider, leaning one shoulder against the frame. "Alright then. Why are you stalking me?"

"I am not stalking you," Melody protested mildly and defensively waved her hands back and fourth. "I wanted to know if you would teach me to play the guitar. You were really good at the concert, and well, I'd like to learn how to play something other than the triangle."

Surprise flickered over his features. "Huh. You know Melody, teaching isn't exactly my métier..."

"I'll pay you," she told him quickly and held up the small daisy-dotted light blue purse she'd brought with her. "Not as much as I'd pay for a licensed professional, but I will pay you."

"Oh yeah?" His lips twitched up in a giddy little smirk. "How much?"

"Ten dollars a lesson." She would've offered fifteen if he wasn't so smug about it.

"Hm." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm a nice guy. For nine, you've got yourself a deal."

He knocked off a dollar. How...Castiel of him. Melody smiled softly. "Thank you."

"Yup. I'm free right now if you wanna get to it."

She blinked in slight bemusement and nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

"C'mon in, then." He shuffled back from the door and it marked the first day of Melody's new schedule, where she spent an hour and a half of her Thursday afternoons in his home and catching onto chords as fast as she could.

"You suck," Castiel snickered playfully. "This is your fifth lesson and you can't even hold the guitar right."

"I had it right last time," Melody objected.

"Then it's even sadder that you don't have it right now."

"Please show me how again." She sighed and self-consciously hung her head.

"Alright." He scooted closer and his hands carefully closed over hers, taking it upon themselves to guide her fingers into place and reshape them with practiced motion.

His palms were calloused and warm and Melody couldn't help pinking when she realized just how nice they felt over hers. "T-Thanks."

"That'll cost you extra," he joked, hands releasing hers. Their warmth lingered on her skin and raised the hairs on her arms in a most pleasant way.

There was something off about Castiel. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were glassy, and a sheen of perspiration veneered his skin.

"Are you okay?" Melody tilted her head questioningly, cerulean pools closely inspecting him.

"Yeah." But the answer was hoarse as well as pithy, and five minutes into the lesson he was trying not to cough, failing, and cursing in between rough wheezes.

"You're not feeling very well," she stated gently. "You don't have to teach me today."

"Well of course I don't have to," he muttered coarsely and shot her a glare of frustration that probably wasn't really directed towards her at all. "I didn't have to to begin with."

"Yes, I know. I just meant that you should, um...Probably be laying down or something instead. And that's totally okay."

"Probably." He covered his mouth to smother another cough and looked to her with a half-lidded gaze. "Guess I'll see you next week?"

"I could stay and make you some tea."

"I'm not asking you to do that."

"I know," she said slowly. "I'm offering."

"Do what-" Cough. Harsher cough. "Whatever you want."

So Melody prepared two cups of lemon and chamomile, added honey and that was that. Castiel didn't thank her, but he hadn't asked for the gesture, so she suppose she didn't expect any thank-yous anyway.

Castiel answered the door shirtless, his hair thrown up into a messy ponytail and heavy pants puffing from his lips. "Your lesson is gonna be a little delayed. I've got to give Demon a bath."

Melody's eyes irresistibly lowered and traced the dips and outlines of his compact muscles. His faded, holey jeans were hanging low and just under his navel was a bristly trail of dark hair. She felt her cheeks go up in flames and snapped her eyes back to his face. "Oh. He needs a bath right this minute?"

"Yeah. He must've rolled in garbage or something dead, cause he's stinking up my whole house." He didn't seem to notice that she'd been staring.

"Do you need any help?"

"Only all the help I can get," he snorted. "Demon hates bathes."

"I'll help." Melody smiled. She didn't mind, really. Though big dogs could make her nervous, she knew Demon was gentle. Rambunctious and playful sometimes, but not aggressive.

However, she wasn't prepared for just how much the canine loathed bathes. The dog zipped to and from rooms at the speed of light, knocking over furniture and scattering clutter on the floor. He'd dart one way and then the other, diving between Melody's or Castiel's legs and dashing off in a roundabout scamper. His nails clicked loudly on the hallway's wood and even louder on the kitchen linoleum, but he avoided the bathroom tile like the plague.

At one point the redhead accidentally chased Demon toward her. The dog whipped by and bumped her so fast it sent her reeling. She gasped as she stumbled, arms braced out to break the fall. Castiel broke it first.

His hand closed around her wrist and tugged her back before she could greet the linoleum with her face. He then spun her around and gingerly flicked her in the forehead. "Be more careful, will you? I don't want to have to clean your blood off my floor."

"It wasn't my fault," she breathed, but then Demon raced by again and they both broke away to pursue him.

After nearly an hour of chasing, Castiel finally snagged Demon's collar with outstretched fingertips and together they managed to wrestle him into the tub. The canine looked so dejected and forlorn that Melody couldn't help feeling sorry for him as she helped lather the shampoo into his matted fur. Her sympathy vanished however, when the dog shook his pelt free of the fluffy suds and the warm water and sent it all splattering onto her. Castiel was equally as soaked and Melody figured that was why he'd taken his shirt off in advance.

Bathing Demon wasn't the only time Castiel got soaked in Melody's presence.

It was winter. It got dark earlier in winter and by the time Melody left Castiel's house, the sky was deep navy and creeping closer and closer to pitch black. She didn't like walking home alone in the dark, it put her on edge and sent anxious dragonflies fluttering around her insides. So she asked if Castiel would start walking home with her. He teased her, but agreed easily enough.

On one of these particular evenings, the wind was whipping her hair in her face and tugging at her clothes and so, so strong that Melody almost feared she'd be blown away.
"Lovely weather we're having, hm?" she joked through gritted teeth as her eyes stung and welled with moisture.

"Just freaking peachy," he scoffed.

A powerful gale gusted by and stole her scarf as well as her laughter. "Oh no!" She quickly sprinted after it and hopped up to catch it. Her fingertips grazed the fabric but she couldn't grasp on and the wind carried it away, depositing it on the delicate, frosted surface of a house's frozen pond. Melody briefly considered going after it, but she knew it wasn't cold enough for the ice to be throughly frozen. No, one step and it would break under her weight.

"Darn it," she sighed heavily and stamped a boot down on the pavement. "That was my best one."

"Then go get it," Castiel told her.

"I can't. I'd have to go out on the ice and I know it'll break. I don't want to freeze." She turned and started to continue home. "Let's just go."

"Pfft. You're such a wimp." With that, he climbed over the fence and jogged out to the pond.

Melody looked back just in time to hear the thunderous crack as the ice split under his weight. Her breath caught in her throat and her cerulean orbs widened to mini moons. "Castiel!"

Somehow, he managed to stay standing. He just broke right through and landed on his feet. But the pond swallowed him up to the waist and Melody cringed at the thought of how gelid it must feel.

He snatched the scarf and clambered out, trotting back to her with a crooked grin on his face and ice water dripping from his sodden pants. "Here." He held it out and as her fingers curled over it she was stunned to discover he'd kept it from getting wet.

"You're crazy! You crazy idiot," she exclaimed. "That's how you get hypothermia!" As the words flew from her lips, she instantly regretted being so rude. "I-I mean, I'm sorry, but you must be freezing!"

"I take it that means "thank you" in Melody-speak." That infuriating show of the teeth broadened.

"Yes! Thank you!" She tossed the scarf around the redhead's neck and wrapped it tight. She wanted to warm him up as much as she could. Whether or not that was also why she hugged him, she wasn't sure. He didn't hug back. Nor did he push her away.

"How'd you miss that chord? You had that entire song down last week."

"I guess I'm distracted today," Melody sighed and gingerly placed the guitar down on the couch cushion. She was distracted today. There wasn't any guessing about it.

"What's up?" Castiel gave her a curious look.

"Well, nothing really..." She chewed tenderly on her bottom lip and laced her fingers together. She wasn't sure she wanted to spill her feelings to Castiel, of all people.

"If it's nothing, then why do you look like a wounded gazelle?"

She lowered her eyes to a cigarette burn in the carpet. "I saw Nathaniel with Lynn. He was just helping her study, but they were really close. She was practically sitting on his lap and he was holding one of her hands. I guess I still just...Wished he liked me. Because I really, really like him and it just hurts that he likes her instead. And that makes me jealous of Lynn. And I...I don't want to be jealous of her. She's my friend and she's a really nice person, so it isn't fair that I feel so resentful. But I just do and I can't help it." Melody's teeth sank deeper into the coral flesh of her lip and she tasted salty metal as a bead of blood rose.

"Damn, you should've warned me this had to do with that feeling crap," muttered Castiel as he nonchalantly scratched the corner of his cheek. "But I don't know why you're into Nathaniel in the first place. I mean, the guy's an asshat. And you...Well you're kinda alright. You deserve better than him, anyway." He shrugged.

She was kind of alright. How sweet of him to say. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Melody stretched out on the couch and watched the bright orange and yellow flames lick at the log in the fireplace. The smell of cooking meat and vegetables wafted in from the kitchen and taunted her empty stomach. Her relatives were visiting for the next few days and that meant big dinners.

The loud ding of the doorbell cut through the faint crackling of the fire and Melody stood up. "I'll get it," she called to the kitchen and shuffled to the door.

She twisted the knob and pulled it open slightly, blinking in nonplus as her eyes laid on the guest. "Hi Castiel." It was snowing outside and glittering flakes were caught in his hair and lashes, bringing out the color in his features.

"Hey." He studied her with an unreadable expression and she felt something in her insides flitter.

"What brings you here?"

"You didn't show up today, so I guess I wanted to make sure you weren't dead." He gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"Oh!" With family coming over she hadn't planned on going to her lesson, but she hadn't thought Castiel would care. Or even notice her absence, really. "Sorry! I have relatives over today. I probably should've called you. Well, I don't have your phone number, but maybe I should've mentioned it back in class."

"So my phone number isn't in my file?" His lips upturned in a teasing smirk. "It's alright. I'm glad you aren't dead."

Melody still felt guilty. She really should have said something, even if she didn't think he would mind. It was the polite thing to do. "We're just about to have dinner." She opened the door a little wider and gave him a gentle smile. "Would you like to stay?"

"Uh...No."

Melody usually took no for an answer. She was generally a courteous person and the courteous thing to do was accept the answers others gave you. But now was one of those times where she did no such thing.

"I insist." She grabbed Castiel by the hand and pulled him inside. "It's chilly and bitter out there, and we have warm food in here." She tightened her grip on his hand and pushed the door shut before he could escape.

Melody strummed the guitar with steady, newly-experienced fingers. The sounds she produced were slow, but they were melodic and correct and a tiny flame of pride flared up in her chest.

"You keep working on that." Castiel patted her on the shoulder. "I'm gonna hop in the shower."

"What?" Melody blinked up at him incredulously. "Why?"

"I'm going out tonight. Filling in at this place for this guitarist Lysander knows. Gotta look my best." A scintillant grin lit up his face.

"That's good," she murmured uncertainly.

"It is." And with that Castiel got up and sauntered on down the hallway. The spray of the shower sounded moments later and Melody felt a little bit awkward just sitting alone in his living room. Well, she wasn't exactly alone. Demon was curled up in a big brown-black lump on an armchair and snoring himself to oblivion.

She practiced like he told her to and whispered the lyrics under her breath as she carried the tune along. Contentment chased away the awkward feeling. Until the water went off, anyway. Because almost immediately after, Castiel was calling her name and there was no way possible that he'd gotten dressed that fast. Unless he dressed while he was still showering and that defeated the purpose.

"Err, yeah?" She stood up and padded down the hallway.

He peered at her from around the bathroom door, flushed from the steam with droplets of water rolling down his skin. "I forgot to grab a towel. Can you get me one out of the closet?" He pointed toward a slim door on her left.

He was stark naked. Totally unclothed. Dripping hot water and buck-ass nude. And all that separated them was a few centimeters of furnished oak. Melody's cheeks instantly incinerated. "Yeah," she squeaked and whipped around to the closet. She grabbed the first towel she saw and skittered over to Castiel.

"Here you go." She held it out with a wobbly arm.

"Thanks." He pulled the door back a bit more to stretch around and take it from her, and she caught a glimpse of one toned, bare thigh.

The door closed again and Melody was grateful, because another second longer and she might've passed out.

Spring came once more. In like a lion as they say, with humid winds and torrents of rain. But the air was fresh with the promise of blooming vegetation and it no longer got dark early.

Melody wasn't nervous about walking home alone anymore, because the rays of sunset illuminated the sky and lit her path. With that in mind, she no longer needed Castiel to walk with her.

But she didn't ask him to stop. He didn't offer to either.

Melody had to bail on another lesson. She was going to the movies with Kim and Violette (and hopefully Iris, because they were a couple and without Iris she would feel like a third wheel) and the movie started before her lesson and ended after.

So she was remedying the mistake she made last time by bailing on Castiel without notice, by looking for him to give him notice. But she couldn't find him.

She figured he was skipping classes again, but on the off chance he wasn't, decided to ask Nathaniel. Nathaniel generally knew where Castiel was at, if only to avoid him.

The blonde was with Lynn, blushing at something she'd said and adjusting his tie. It struck Melody as odd to discover she didn't mind that. She didn't feel hurt, she didn't feel jealous. She didn't care at all. She wasn't sure why she didn't care, but it didn't matter why. She smiled softly and approached the duo without rancor for the first time in months.

"Hey Nathaniel, Lynn. Have either of you seen Castiel?"

Nathaniel's gaze shifted to her, glinting with surprise. "You didn't hear? He and Lysander were in a car accident last night."

It didn't process for a moment. And then it hit Melody like a freight train and her heart skidded to a dead stop in her chest. "Oh my god!"

"Unfortunately, Castiel lived. Lysander too on a more positive note." Nathaniel blinked. "According to Peggy, it actually wasn't that bad."

The latter knowledge might've made someone else feel better, but not Melody. "I've gotta go."

She ran right out of the school and to Castiel's house as fast as her legs could carry her. It occurred to her on the way that he might not even be home. He was very well in the hospital for all she knew. But she still had to try. She simply needed to see him.

She was gasping and panting by the time she got there and hammered on the door relentlessly. Please be here. Please be here. Please be here.

The longest eighteen seconds of her life dragged on from her arrival until the door creaked open. "Hey." Castiel's bruised mouth twitched into a thin smile and he waved in greeting, his index and middle fingers taped together.

Relief flooded over Melody so powerfully, she wavered and nearly fell under its force. Nearly. She didn't. What she did, was hug Castiel fiercely. She clutched onto him like she feared he might dissolve before her very eyes.

"Ah─ Melody! Broken ribs, Melody stop!"

"Sorry!" She gasped and released him as quickly as she grabbed him, stepping back. "I'm so sorry, oh my god! Are you okay!?"

"It's fine. I'm fine." He grimaced and attentively held one side, giving her a sheepish look. "Damn. You look like you're about to cry. Chill out, alright?"

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I heard you and Lysander were in an accident and I got so scared! What happened?"

"Some texting bitch nailed us into the guardrail," he grunted. "I'm fine. Broke a few ribs, bruised a few bones, got a couple stitches. No big deal. Lysander got the worst of it, but still nothing too serious. I was just on my way out to go see him. You wanna tag along?"

That's exactly what Melody wanted to do. She was still jittery and the last thing she wanted to do was let Castiel out of her sight. But of course, she had to be considerate. "Are you sure that would be okay? Lysander wouldn't mind?"

"Nah, he wouldn't care."

"Alright, I'll come with you." She smiled weakly and tentatively curled her hand around his as they shuffled down the porch steps.

"By the way, do you have any money on you?"

"Yes." She fluttered a curious blink. "Why?"

"I'm craving tacos. Lys and I were about to get some before we got hit. You wouldn't mind buying a taco for a guy who just brushed death, right?" He gave her a playful, devious grin that she just couldn't refuse.

"Of course I'll buy you a taco. And don't say that 'd-word.' I'm still rattled about everything."

"By 'd-word' you mean death?"

"Castiel! Stop! Say it one more time and I won't buy that taco!"

"Alright, alright." He squeezed her hand a little tighter as though he were trying to comfort her. It worked as much as anything would have.

"You wanna go to this concert with me?" Castiel glanced to Melody and held up a pair of tickets.

"That's kind of you," she chirped. "But you know rock isn't really my preference."

"Yeah, but your preference sucks. You need to listen to more music like this." He smirked at her wryly and waved the tickets back and fourth.

"That isn't very nice."

"But it's honest."

"According to your standards. Different people like different things."

"Melody." He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Look. I can't keep teaching you, if I know you're going to play crappy music with the skills you're learning from me. It'd be an insult to my efforts. Either you come with me to this concert, or I give up on you."

She gaped at him in disbelief. "You would actually stop teaching me to play guitar solely because I don't share your taste in music?"

"That's what I just said."

"Okay," she relented. It couldn't be that bad, she supposed. She'd get to hang out with Castiel and she- Wait, hold on. Why would she just want to hang out with him? They weren't friends, not really. Were they?

"Good, you gave in. I would've forced you to go anyway."

Were they friends? He was a good teacher, even if he could be hard to deal with. And she liked talking to him. And he could be really nice sometimes, like when he went into the pond just to get her scarf back. Was that enough to mean they were friends? What did he think about her?

"Eh, Melody? Why are you just staring at me?"

"Sorry!" She blinked rapidly. "I was just, um...Thinking about what I was going to wear to the concert," she covered quickly. "I don't exactly have any rocker clothes, or fishnets, or skully things..."

He snickered and lifted a brow. "Skully things?"

"You know what I mean." She blushed and lowered her head.

"I've got something you can wear." He stood up from the floor and swaggered off to his room. He came back with a long black t-shirt with ripped off sleeves and ungraciously tossed it at her head.

Melody lifted it and studied the front, a brilliant silver skull with bleeding, empty eye sockets. Its missing teeth beamed up at her. "It's kinda big," is all she said, internally groaning at the thought of wearing something so creepy.

"Well no shit, it's mine."

Melody's breath caught in her throat. This was Castiel's shirt? Castiel wanted her to wear his shirt? She pulled it over her head and his scent washed over her in piquant waves. It enveloped her and the thinning material loosely hugged her skin.

"It almost looks good on you," he quipped.

She didn't reply, but her face warmed under what she recognized as a compliment.

The concert was surprisingly fun. Melody wore Castiel's shirt along with a worn pair of jeans she hadn't put on in over a year and tossed her hair up in an unbrushed ponytail. She shocked herself by getting into most of the songs and let loose for a little while. She decided that they were friends. After all, if they weren't, trying something new probably wouldn't have been nearly as easy as it was.

"Not sure there's much more I can teach you," Castiel told her bluntly.

Melody stopped playing. "Oh..." Her fingers went completely slack on the instrument and her eyes drifted down.

"Don't look so bummed about it. It's a compliment. You're my successful protégé." He clapped softly in dry humor.

"I suppose you're right." She tried to force a smile, but couldn't. A mass of emotion was rising in her throat, but she just couldn't swallow it down. And she couldn't speak it out either.

"What? You gonna miss me?"

"Well...Yes," she admitted shyly. Castiel was only teasing her, but that's exactly what it was. She liked him. She didn't know exactly when or exactly how it happened, but she liked him. A lot. And now the idea of not coming over anymore, the idea of not spending time with him just...It just...She felt tears collect in her eyes and blinked them back as hard as she could. She felt ridiculous, tearing up over a boy like a silly little girl.

"Hey." He slid onto the couch and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Look at me."

Hesitantly, Melody raised her eyes to meet his. The unexpected warmth in them helped eased the lump in her throat.

Wordlessly, Castiel tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to hers. Melody shuddered and melted simultaneously, all the apprehension fleeing from her thoughts as she kissed him back.