Feeling Good

"Cas?"

Snowflakes fell gently from the sky, carried around by a frosty wind that chilled the glass window that he was looking out of. Castiel did not register the call of his close friend, who was stacking cups beside the coffee machine, concern etched into the sides of her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Again, no response. She dried and placed the last of the cups, and delicately made her way to his side.

Castiel finally turned around, snapped out of his trance by a soft hug.

"Sorry, Anna. I'll be okay soon enough, I suppose."

She smiled sadly, not fully understanding the pain he was feeling. "What happened between you two?" Her voice was barely a whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the wind outside.

"I don't… I'm not ready to talk about it," Castiel replied.

"Alright. Don't worry about that, but let's go out tonight. It'll be fun, and I heard that someone new is performing at the Avenue all week."

It had been a while since he had done anything fun, and the Avenue bar almost always had music he liked. The food was great too. "That sounds… not entirely awful," he replied with a smile.

Anna flipped the sign on the door to the side that read 'OPEN,' and took her place behind the counter. The cash register beeped momentarily before the LED display flickered to life. They would need to replace it soon. Castiel shook himself off, fully switching to work mode and heading to his post at the coffee machine.

The day passed very quietly, most people being kept inside their homes by the bitter cold. The most common orders were all a variant of the hot chocolate that they offered, which Castiel found to be too sickly sweet to enjoy.

Days like this had seemed few and far in between, especially of late. There was an easiness to them, allowing more room for quiet thought and reflection. Come to think of it, Castiel hadn't really had much time like this at all. Thoughts came as slowly as customers did.

Today was going very well. It was relaxing to be free of the thoughts that had been plaguing him of late.

It did not take the two of them long to clean up the shop, and once they were done Castiel locked the front door and followed Anna out to the car park behind the small building. Her car was parked very close, and thankfully it did not need to be freed from the thin blanket of snow that had covered it. Anna turned the heat up as far as it would go, sighing in pleasure as the seat grew warm beneath her.

"That has got to be one of man's greatest inventions," she murmured.

Castiel nodded in agreement.

The streets between work and the place Castiel was living were largely vacant, save for a few children who were being called back inside by their mother. Winter here used to be Castiel's favourite time of the year. It always felt like the beginning of the beginning - before life started to come back. Everything was white, wiped clean of any notable features. Nothing was out there, and it was incredibly peaceful.

"Lost in your thoughts again I see." Anna's voice broke the silence.

Apparently he was already home and he had not realised. "Oh. Thanks Anna. What time should I be ready tonight?"

"I guess seven-thirty. Some of my friends will be there, so we don't have to worry about getting a table."

"Your friends? Does that mean Gabriel will be joining us? You know how I feel about him."

"Relax, he's working tonight. I don't think you've met any of these guys yet."

Castiel was beginning to feel reluctant. Meeting people was not his forte. "Maybe not…"

"Cas, trust me. They're cool, and I think you could do with meeting someone new, especially after what happened with-

"Fine. Just… let's not talk about that."

"Deal. I'll pick you up later."

Snow was still falling when Castiel stepped out of the car, so he rushed to his front door and fumbled around in his pocket for the keys to his house. It was unbearably cold, and when he finally got inside the fireplace was his first destination. It was not long before the flames came to life, casting a warm glow over the small room. Once the fire was going, his cat trotted over to him and purred against his leg. Satisfied with a scratch behind its ears, it sat down in front of the fire and closed its eyes.

"What now," he muttered to himself, looking around. His eyes took in his surroundings, eager to continue the relaxing day that he had had so far. On the far side of his lounge, he spotted the Nina Simone record that Anna had given him for his birthday. "Perfect," he said, smiling to himself.

A small note was attached. In Anna's familiar scrawl, the words 'feel good' took up most of the space, surrounded by many tiny kisses. He slipped the vinyl disc from its jacket and placed it on the player gently. The familiar scratch of the pin on the disc began; followed by what Castiel considered to be one of the most beautiful voices he had ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Feeling Good played in the background while he set some water to boil and retrieved his favourite mug from the cupboard. He rummaged around in the jar that held his tea, frowning as he discovered that there were only two bags of peppermint tea left. He wrote a reminder into his phone so that he would remember to buy some more the next time he went out.

The Avenue was a popular place for people his age to go to, with live music performances most nights and a decent playlist for when there was no band available. It had opened up around the same time Cas had started working with Anna, who already knew the owners. As it approached the time he was supposed to be picked up, he headed into his room to put on some nicer clothes. Eventually a black patterned sweater was decided upon, along with a pair of blue jeans and his Chuck Taylors. Satisfied with his appearance, Castiel sat on the couch to get in a few minutes of Animal Crossing while he waited.

Before he left, he filled up the food bowl for the cat and changed its water. He glanced over at the grey ball of fur, snoring faintly in front of the fireplace before he left. Anna was waiting outside, seat already heated just for him.