Based off a prompt I saw third or fourth hand from the internet somewhere. Person A is stood up on a date, and Person B decides to rescue them. No supernatural universe.
Takes place in San Diego. The San Diego Zoo is a beautiful and extensive zoo, and there are peacocks that walk around. Cas works with peacocks.
Castiel was fighting back tears at this point. Balthazar, the man's name was, seemed so nice online, and then they had decided to meet and- and now fifteen minutes had gone by, then twenty, then thirty, and Castiel wasn't able to pretend for much longer that he hadn't been stood up.
Dean totally wasn't keeping an eye on the hottie over by the window. He was at one of Jo's tables, and she was bringing reports back to the kitchen, where Dean and Jo met as they waited tables.
"He's totally your type," she said, five minutes in.
"Really?" asked Dean. He was pickier about guys than he was about girls. He had no idea why.
Ten minutes in, she added, "He has a rainbow bracelet on."
"You think…?" Dean asked, not voicing the rest of the question.
"Considering my assessment of him so far, there's a really good chance he's gay," she affirmed.
And fifteen minutes in, watching Dean walk up to her with eagerness written all over his face, she said, "He's still alone. And he hasn't ordered anything. He says he's waiting."
"Oh," Dean said, sadly.
Dean snuck glances regardless. He did his best not to let it get in the way of his work, although he did almost give food to the wrong table. Once. It wouldn't happen again. And it was going on twenty minutes, and the pretty man in the corner by the window was still alone.
Jo walked to the kitchen yet again. "He's still alone," she repeated.
"Still?"
"Yeah. Keeps looking out the window. His name is Castiel, by the way."
"What an odd name," Dean mused. He smiled regardless.
"You think he got stood up?" Jo asked.
"Can you… make small talk or something? See what's going on?" Dean asked. Jo heard his voice laced with a trace of worry for the guy.
"I can try," Jo said.
It was ten minutes later that she made her rounds back to Castiel, the man growing sadder and sadder at a table for two.
"Still nothing?" she asked.
"Nothing," Castiel replied. He hadn't even touched his water.
"Who are you waiting for?" she asked. Castiel's breath seemed to shudder, and he was staring determinedly at the window.
"A guy I met on… well… it was a long shot... but maybe…"
Jo frowned. She carried the information back to Dean.
"Man, that sucks," Dean said. Secretly, he was a bit happy for the confirmation that the guy was playing for his team. Dean's heart went out to him. Stood up in a restaurant, a decent restaurant with everyone sending you sympathetic glances… Dean knew what he had to do. "Jo," he started, "can you cover half my tables? I owe you one, call in a favor any time. I'll see if Ash can get the other half. Please."
"What are you gonna do?" Jo asked.
"I'm gonna join him. The douche that stood him up can go screw himself. He looks like the type I gotta save from shame and embarrassment."
Dean was on a mission. There was no stopping him. It wasn't a super busy night, so Jo happily took half the tables. Ash was very willing to cover half after an explanation and a promise of a favor (and some beer) later. With that, Dean ducked into the kitchen to tell Bobby what was going on. Of course, Bobby knew immediately that his adopted son had two reasons for doing this, but after making sure the tables were covered properly, he instructed Dean to take off the waiter's bow tie, fix up his outfit the best he could, and maybe run a comb through his hair before he went out the back and around.
Dean hurried around the restaurant, seeing Castiel's face in the window.
"I'm supposed to meet someone called Castiel?" he told Lisa Braeden, who was currently up front. She frowned at him.
"Please," he muttered in an undertone. "Go with it."
And Lisa, who'd also witnessed the deteriorating mood of the young man by the window, accepted it without comment.
Dean walked over, oddly shy for a second. He sat down opposite Castiel. Castiel looked up, through slightly watery eyes, surprised.
"Sorry I was so late," Dean said, for Castiel's benefit- the people in the restaurant would stop wondering about the poor boy by the window. "It was just… work, then traffic…"
"Are you Balthazar?" Castiel asked quietly, tentatively.
"Actually…" Dean ran a hand nervously through his hair, unsure how Castiel would react. "I'm Dean. I'm a waiter here. I saw that some douche stood you up, and… well…"
"Thank you," Castiel whispered.
Dean smiled then. "You're Castiel, right? Jo told me."
Castiel nodded.
"Dude, that's the best name I've ever heard. It sounds, like, majestic."
Castiel's lips quirked in a smile.
Jo came over. "You ready to order?" she asked, throwing Dean a wink. Dean looked at Castiel.
"Maybe," Castiel said shyly, "maybe you can suggest something for me? I never actually opened up the menu."
"Well," Dean said, "do you like meat, or veggie stuff, or soup, or what? Because I really love the steak Bobby makes, but Ellen's soup is awesome too."
"Soup sounds good," Castiel said.
Dean ordered for both of them. "That's the first time I've actually sat and ordered something here," he admitted to Castiel. "Isn't that weird? I've worked here for, like, six years. It's my foster dad's place."
Castiel laughed, just a little. "But you've probably tried every dish there is to offer," he said.
Dean nodded. "Helped taste-test some of them before they were offered here," he boasted.
Jo came back with water for Dean. He took a sip, and Castiel took a sip of his own. Dean nodded at Jo, and she smiled back.
"She is your…" Castiel trailed off, waiting for Dean to fill in the blank.
"Adoptive sister. Jo. She and Ash- my adoptive brother- wait tables here, and so does Benny, sometimes. Bobby and Ellen- mom and dad- they cook. Lisa helps too." He pointed to Lisa. "Lisa and Benny aren't family members. I went on a date with Lisa once, and it went okay, but then I decided to go on a road trip with Sam- that's my real brother, but he doesn't work here- and by the time I come back, Lisa's gone on a couple dates with some guy and it's working out for her. So, you know." Dean shrugged. He stared off into the middle distance for a second or two. Castiel frowned the barest bit. He was almost hoping Dean was gay too, but apparently… "So tell me about you!" Dean said, looking back at Castiel, reminiscence over. "I mean, I'm on a date with you, I should know something about you." Castiel blushed when Dean said date, but didn't comment.
"I work in animal rescue," he said. "I work with birds, mostly. I have a brother named Gabriel who convinced me to go on this date. I was mad at him after about fifteen minutes since I arrived here, but I'm thinking it might not have been that bad after all." He smiled softly at Dean.
Dean grinned. "Saved any pretty birds lately?" he asked.
Castiel contemplated. "About a month ago, a peacock got hurt at the zoo when a cat- just a housecat- somehow got near…" he said. "Well, actually, she was a peahen."
"What's the difference?" Dean asked.
"The peahens are girls and they don't have as much colorful plumage," Castiel explained. "She had a couple scratches and a couple feathers loose. I bandaged her, and plucked out the feather that was too loose and going to bother her. She'll grow a new one."
"She's all right, then?" Dean asked.
"She's out and about already." Jo came back with their food. Castiel tasted his soup, and decided that between the soup and his (admittedly attractive) new dinner companion, he didn't really mind the forty minute wait. They talked as they ate.
"You wanna try some of this steak?" Dean asked, cutting off another piece.
"Okay," Castiel agreed.
"Here." Dean speared it on his fork, and reached it out toward Castiel's face. Castiel awkwardly grabbed the fork and took the steak.
"Wow," he murmured around the food.
"I know, right?" Dean said.
"Bobby outdid himself."
"Bobby's your adopted dad?" Castiel asked. The simple question held back the tougher questions of what happened to Dean's parents.
"Yeah," Dean said. "My normal father" (Castiel noticed that his father wasn't awarded an informal, easy title) "raised me and Sam alone, mostly, because my mom died before I really got to know her. But he was a strict sort of guy, ex-military and all- and set in his ways- so when he caught me and Sam talking about hot guys- he's pan, I'm bi- he disowned the both of us and we ended up on Bobby's doorstep."
"I'm sorry," Castiel said hesitantly, even though he sort of wasn't because he totally had a chance with the man across from him.
"It's cool," Dean said, waving a hand. "Growing up, we called him Uncle Bobby, because he practically was, and now we call him foster dad Bobby. And I get Ellen and Ash and Jo as family."
Later, as the dinner was drawing to an end, Castiel said, "I don't think I ever thanked you properly for rescuing me."
"'S cool," Dean said, slightly embarrassed.
"I gotta thank you. How about-" Castiel's breath hitched, but he plowed on. "How about a real date, where you're not just a backup for someone I met on the Internet?"
Dean's face split into a wide grin. "I'd love that!"
The end
I know jack all about peacocks, but I love them anyway.
Message of the story from yours truly: Date someone who appreciates the way you smile when you're excited about things (like peacocks).