Title: There's always tomorrow.
Author: darkwolf5
Rating: Pg-13
Pairings/characters: Dean/Cas (pre-slash could be seen as friendship.)
Spoilers: None.
Wordcount: 969
A/N: This is just one snapshot of life in my AU superhero verse. I Plan to write quite a few more.
Verse summary: Dean Winchester is a mechanic like any other, also working part-time at a bar to pay the rent. Except...Well, he doesn't need goggles for welding, or a blowtorch. Dean Winchester is the superhero inferno. Cas is a reporter trying to find out the mystery behind inferno, and he would like to point out he most definitely isn't a superhero, well, not most of the time anyway. It's when Dean meets Cas that things start getting complicated...
Story summary: Castiel finds a reason not to hate the rain that much and Dean finally finds someone he doesn't mind talking too.
There's always tomorrow.
He had to admit that standing in the rain waiting for someone dressed in a tight, orange costume had never really been on his to-do list, yet lately, it seemed to be happening more and more often.
Castiel was never one to interview superheroes. Of course his job was to report on things of public interest, and all of that, but he found that being a superhero himself gave him an unfair advantage. The words "super" and "hero" still tasted strange when combined on his tongue. He wasn't much of either really but since he'd never been the type to turn around and give a five-minute speech on the correct way to define vigilantism that's what he was being called, so he supposed it would have to stick.
If only his bosses knew, they would have a field day – Working at their office, the mighty... Well, he still hadn't thought of a name for himself. All heroes needed a codename, but he couldn't find one that suited him. He couldn't help but wonder if Inferno had ever had the same problem. He knew that Inferno's name was once Infernogen, but really, Inferno was easier and (Frankly) a little less idiotic-sounding, so that was the one that had stuck...
Castiel's reverie was interrupted by the sound of feet hitting the tarmac behind him, the dull slap of soft rubber enhanced by the displacement of the puddles littering the ground. He half expected to hear the flutter of a cape, but apparently, Inferno had more style than that. Cas slowly turned around, noting, as he did, that the air around the other man was heated slightly, keeping away the night's bitter chill and helping to fight the effects of the rain that was pouring thick and heavy from the sky. It always seemed to be raining in this city.
"You stalking me again, Cas?" The man behind the mask smiled, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.
"Hello again Inferno." Castiel matched the other man's small smile. "It's good to see you, even if I still insist orange is not your colour."
"What are you, gay? Anyway, orange suits the whole 'Can shoot fire out of hands' thing, any other colour would be a little random..." Inferno chuckled, before clearing his throat quietly at Castiel's slightly arched eyebrow. "Y'know, not that I would have anything against you if you were gay, I mean, I was just – uh..."
"You really don't do yourself any favours." Castiel let out a huff of air, the closest to a laugh Inferno had heard pass his lips.
"Yeah well, I'm not exactly used to keeping my trap shut, I guess, I spend way too much time mouthing off to villains." Inferno leant back against the alleyway wall, arms crossed. Castiel tilted his head slightly, his eyes drawn to Dean's left arm, where there was a rough tear through the fabric, blood soaking into the material.
"You're bleeding." He was immediately concerned, he hadn't seen the other man actually injured before. Grazes, scrapes and bruises were probably to be expected, but the cut was deep, as far as Castiel could tell , a jagged, rain-slick gash, and certainly not an accident. "What happened?"
"A little run in with Masquerade. She's surprisingly strong and then, y'know, I can't really hit a girl." Dean said, one hand uncrossing to lightly cover the wound. "I'm fine though, had worse. Is there any particular reason you're here, Cas?"
Castiel didn't want to drop the subject of Inferno's injury, wanted to check it, bandage it and make sure it didn't need stitching, but there was little he could do if the hero didn't want him to.
"My boss thinks I have a strong connection to you, and that I should try and get an interview." Castiel shoved his hand into one of the pockets of his trench coat, grabbing a notepad and flipping it open, before shoving it away again as the few seconds of exposure threatened the neat, blue scripture. "Although I think if I try writing anything out here, it's going to wash off the paper..."
"Ah, I see, be all nice and friendly and then move in for the kill. Honestly, you reporters, you're all the same." Inferno said, his warm, almost fond smile alerting Castiel to the fact that it wasn't anything more than friendly teasing. "What sort of questions would you ask anyway?"
"I don't know, maybe whether putting on that ridiculously deep voice gives you a sore throat." Castiel frowned. "I was never good at asking questions, only good at putting the facts on paper and making it look interesting."
"More of a writer than an out on the field sort of guy, then? Y'know, that doesn't really surprise me. Tell you what, I'll give you your interview, although the minute you start asking about engagement rings and secret identities, I'm outta here." The hero went quiet for a second, seeming to resolve something internally, and then nodded. "Meet me here tomorrow if it's not raining, if it is... Well, I guess we'll just have to keep moving the date. See you around, Cas."
The reporter smiled as Dean turned to walk away, a goodbye slipping quietly past his lip. He himself had turned to leave, when Inferno suddenly turned and jogged back.
"And for God's sake, get out of the damn rain before you get hypothermia." The superhero's hand made it's way to Castiel's shoulder, and an unnatural warmth flooded the reporter's body, partially drying him off, as much as were possible with the rain still lashing down. And then Inferno really was gone, leaving Cas with a sense of aloneness, and utterly freezing without the warmth, Inferno's touch only a memory.
He smiled. It wasn't too bad though, there was always tomorrow.
End. (For now).