AN: *Cue trumpets* Hear ye, hear ye! Today I give you: Storm Chaser! Cas!
I wrote this for the ever so awesome Zeppx for her birthday. She had wanted to read a fic about Cas being a storm chaser awhile back, but couldn't find one. I thought it would be pretty awesome too, so here it is. So happy birthday woman! Hopefully you like it and I did it justice for you.
Gotta admit though, this was super fun to write. And a hell of a lot easier than I thought it would be. And why Balthazar and Chuck? No clue, just felt right I guess. :P Anyways- Tally Ho!
Disclaimer: Do we really need to go over this? Cause obviously, if I did own any of them, the show would be freaking insane.
Warning: Any and all mistakes are my own, which there might be a little more of since there was some booze involved in typing this up.
"Oi! The latest Convective Outlook is out, looks like there's a super cell building up about twenty miles to the west. Should be breaking in about 45 minutes, and if we leave now we can be there for it." Castiel called out to his team as he closed his laptop and started packing it away. Sam, Balthazar and Chuck immediately jumped to their feet and began gathering equipment.
"You actually coming out for this one Cas?" Balthazar asked, grinning at his cousin.
"Conditions are nearly perfect, wouldn't miss it for the world!" Cas told him happily.
They all rushed out to their vehicles and started booting up equipment and checking instruments over.
"Shotgun!" Shouted Cas as he jumped into the passenger seat of the truck they used as their lead vehicle. Flicking a switch, the yellow flasher on the top of the truck turned on, signaling they were on the hunt for bad weather. He pulled his laptop out again, connecting it to the wires that originated from the small radar system that occupied the truck bed. As the program booted up, Sam jumped in the driver's seat and turned the ignition.
"Take it you won rock-paper-scissors this time." Cas said, stating the obvious without looking up from the computer screen.
"Didn't give the guys a choice this time." Sam chuckled, tearing out of the motel parking lot.
"Then congratulations on upsetting the natural order of things. I want nothing to do with the fallout from this." Castiel told him flatly, pulling up a road map and comparing it to the projected storm path. He grabbed the handset for the truck's CB radio and held it in front of his mouth, "We'll take this road north then cut over to County Road R using a little road called… Huh, talk about ironic. It's called Tornado Lane."
He released the transmit button and listened to static as he waited for a response.
"Tornado Lane? You're joking, right?" Balthazar's voice came through, sounding amused.
"That's what the map says it's… Called…" Cas trailed off as Sam turned the truck onto the connecting road. His eyes alighted on the huge, black storm clouds that filled the sky ahead of them. Flashes of lightning highlighted them every few seconds.
"Will you look at that." The awe in Balthazar's voice was heavy as it filtered out of the radio speakers. There was a pause before his voice came through again, only irritated this time, "What's going on, why are you guys slowing down?"
Cas looked to Sam, just noticing their decrease in speed.
"Sam?"
"Damn it. The taller man mumbled, stopping the truck completely.
"Wha-?" Cas followed his line of sight till it rested on a sleek black car that was blocking both lanes of the road. A man in a worn leather jacket was leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest, looking pissed.
"Damn it." Sam muttered again, putting the truck in park and taking off his seatbelt.
"Who is that Sam?" Cas asked as he mimicked him by removing his own.
"That's my brother. How the hell did he know where we'd be?" He asked more so to himself than his friend. Opening the door, he jumped out and stalked over to where his brother stood. Castiel sat a moment in the truck; ignoring Balthazar's radioed inquiries at to what the hell was going on. Tossing the laptop and handset aside, Cas exited the vehicle. Strong storm winds tugged at his clothes as he walked up to where the brothers were obviously fighting.
"Move the damn car Dean." Sam was demanding.
"I'm not letting you do this anymore Sam, it's too dangerous. You want me to move the car; you had better be in the passenger seat and leaving with me." The brother, Dean, said in a tone which left no room for argument.
"Um, excuse me." Cas interjected, putting as much confidence into his voice that he could. Dean turned to look at him, a flash of curiosity passed across his face before hardening again.
"What the hell are you?"
Sam opened his mouth to yell at his brother again, but Cas held up his hand to stop him. He then offered his hand to the older brother.
"I'm Castiel." He introduced himself; Dean reached forward and gripped his hand.
"So you're the guy who convinced my brother to come out here and try and get himself killed?" The blond asked harshly.
"From what I gather from Sam, you're an FBI agent, right? National Homicide Division?" Cas asked in turn, ignoring Dean's question.
"Uh, yeah."
"So your job has a fair amount of potentially deadly risk to it then, right?"
"Yeah… Where are you going with this?"
"I'm just saying that you showing up right now like this, trying to stop Sam from doing his job, is like if he were to come running up to you just as before you were about to move in and apprehend a murderer and telling you that you can't do it cause the guy might kill you." Cas reasoned as the wind picked up and whipped around all them.
"That's different! What I do saves lives!" Dean shouted, glaring at the smaller man.
"How is that any different from our job? By going into these storms, we can find out things that will allow us to come up with better warning systems which in turn save hundreds of lives each year." Cas yelled back over the howling winds. A hand on his shoulder had him turning around, bringing him face-to-face with a shouting Chuck.
"The cell shifted! Radar indicated it's already produced three tornados and two trained spotters have confirmed them."
"Where's it headed?" Cas shouted back, feeling something wet hit his arm. Just as he went to brush it away, three more water droplets hit him. Glancing at the ground, he saw dark circles appearing on the asphalt as it started raining.
"It's headed straight for us!" Chuck's eyes were wide with fear. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and highlighted the ugly storm head. The resulting thunder was loud enough to shake the vehicles and made everyone jump.
"Get in the vehicles!" Sam ordered, running for the truck. Cas caught Dean's arm before the other man could get to the other side of his car.
"You got a CB radio in there by chance?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?" Dean shouted back, pulling his jacket collar up as the rain got heavier.
"We'll need to keep in contact if we're all going to make it out of here safe. We're using channel 36.9FM. Do what you can to try and keep a visual of the vehicle in front of you, this rain is going to turn torrential downpour. And I hope you got good car insurance, cause the hail damage is going to be a bitch!" Cas smiled when he saw Dean's face shift into a mask of horror. Turning on his heel he sprinted back to the truck, peeling off his already soaked shirt as he went. Jumping in, he tossed the sopping wet bundle to the floor boards in the back and grabbed a dry one before drying off quick and pulling it on.
"Why do you bother?" Sam asked amused as he turned the truck around and followed behind Chick and Balthazar's van. He glanced in the rear view mirror to make sure Dean was following them.
"What? I don't like sitting around in wet clothes. I'd change my pants too if it wouldn't be awkward." Cas said as he put a towel over his lap before grabbing the laptop.
"Riiiight, Mr. I-like-to-go-commando-when-I-storm-chase. Like putting on a pair of underpants is going to chase away the big ones. I'd bet Dean wouldn't mind though."
"Why would you say that?" Cas asked without looking up from the computer.
"Well, he did seem to like that little running strip act you did out there. Oh, and there's the fact that he's gay." Sam announced nonchalantly.
Castiel looked up from the screen and started at his driver, "No way."
"Yes way."
They sat in silence for a moment, the sounds of the rain beating against the truck roof and the rapid swishes of the windshield wipers filled the small space.
"he's single you know." Sam supplied smugly.
"I was not-"
"You were too."
"Well regardless of if I was going to ask or not, we need to go faster." Cas proclaimed as he twisted in his seat to look at the sky. Turning back he grabbed the CB handset.
"We're already going as fast as we can without risking wrecking, Cas. What's wrong?" Sam's voice shook slightly as he spoke.
Cas looked at him solemnly, his blue eyes wide, "We're currently core plunging, only have five feet of visibility, and radar is indicating a strong rotation… Damn near on top of us."
Sam swallowed audibly as Cas fingered the transmitter button on the handset, "Balthazar, Chuck; you there?"
"Yeah, we're here." Chuck squeaked.
"Dean, you on the channel?"
"Yeah, what the hell is going on? I can barely see your tail lights; shouldn't we pull over or something?" The FBI agent sounded like he was trying to be annoyed, but it was obvious he was scared.
"Chuck, tell Balthazar we need to go faster."
There was a brief crackle of static as Cas waited for a reply.
"What the bloody hell are you thinking Cas? We have zero visibility and it's starting to hail golf balls. You want to get us all killed?" Balthazar barked through the speakers.
"I agree with that guy." Dean piped in. Sam grabbed the handset from Cas.
"We don't need your opinion Dean! Let the experts handle this." He growled before Cas managed to take back the mic.
"Sorry, your brother gets…"
"Bitchy?"
"Yes, bitchy, when he's stressed. Anyways, we need to get out of the core faster; we've got a strong rotation directly behind us. So if we don't move, we really will die."
There was silence on the line.
"What kind of chance for touchdown are you thinking then?" Chuck was back on the line as the small caravan of vehicles sped up even more.
"Eighty-five percent." Castiel answered, double checking his data.
"Eighty-five percent chance for what?" Dean's voice demanded.
"There's an eighty-five percent chance that a tornado is going to form directly behind us."
A deafening crack of thunder punctuated his revelation. Hail and rain pinged off the truck as the radio remained silent. Cas typed away on the laptop, processing the storm data that was streaming in.
"We're not going to out run this storm Cas." Sam said suddenly, eyes glued ahead on what he hoped was the road.
"Cas." Chuck's voice crackled through the CB.
"Yeah?" He responded.
"The storm speed is picking up and it's following our trajectory. We can't get away, we gotta pull over. It's the only way we'll have a chance."
Castiel sat silent for a moment, contemplating their options. Just then, there was a loud crack as a softball-sized hail stone crashed through the truck's windshield. Sam shouted in surprise, jerking the wheel accidently, sending the vechile fish-tailing. He tried to correct their course, but it was useless as they completely spun out. The two men screamed and braced themselves for the inevitable crash.
The truck tipped into the ditch and started rolling. Glass and equipment flew everywhere as it crashed down onto its roof. The momentum continued to carry it over till it was righted again. It rocked back and forth threateningly before it settled.
Cas and Sam hung limply in their seatbelts. Rain poured in through shattered windows, soaking them. The squawking of the radio slowly roused Castiel from his daze. Groaning, he pressed a hand to the side of his aching head. Pulling his hand away, he stared at the red blood that coated it. Looking over at Sam, he saw blood dripping down his face too. Reaching over stiffly, he shook his companion's shoulder roughly. Sam groaned, but didn't rouse.
The radio squawked again. Chuck's worried voice was barely audible over the storm raging around them, "Cas! Sam! C'mon guys, you're scaring me. Somebody answer!"
Cas fumbled for the radio handset amongst the shattered glass and scattered objects. Finding it, he brought it up in front of his mouth shakily.
"We're alive." He croaked, reaching over to try and rouse Sam again. Still nothing.
"Oh thank God!" Chuck shouted in relief, "What happened? Where are you? You guys ok?"
"Hail took out the windshield; we spun out into the ditch. We no longer have any functioning equipment, tell me what's going on Chuck." Cas unbuckled his seatbelt so he could assess Sam's injuries better.
"What about my brother, how's Sam?" Dean asked worriedly.
"Unconscious, but I'm not seeing any major injuries. Where's everyone in relation to us? What is this storm doing Chuck?" Cas' patience was running out as the storm was getting worse.
"We're way past you; we broke out of the core and noticed you weren't with us anymore. Dean hasn't come out yet either."
"I'm going back for them." Dean informed them.
"You're an idiot!" Balthazar's muffled voice was heard over the line.
"Chuck, storm. What. Is. It. Doing?" Cas pushed as he looked out of the cab and at the angry sky.
"It shifted again. It's going south now. You're still stuck in the core…"
"We're under a mesocyclone, aren't we?" Cas deduced, resting the back of the hand that held the mic on his forehead.
"I'm almost to where you guys should be and you're under a cyclone?" The agitation in Dean's voice wasn't strong enough to cover the slight quiver that was there.
"No tornado. Not yet anyways. Just turn back now Dean. I can get Sam and myself somewhere sheltered, but I don't know about a third person." He waited for Dean's response, but only got static. Something gibber than hail thudded into the side of the truck. Spinning around he saw a drenched Dean leaning in, water running down his face. Before he could say anything to him, Dean was already making his way to the driver's side. Prying the door open, the FBI agent grabbed his brother and started hauling him out. Cas helped ease his friend out before following. Rain and wind whipped him in the face as he draped one of Sam's arms across his shoulders. Dean tried to maneuver them up the side of the ditch to try and get back to his car, but Cas tugged back. He grabbed a fist full of his jacket and pulled at him so he could yell in his ear.
"We're not out running this! We need to keep to the lowest point possible in case the worst happens!"
Dean glared at him through the heavy precipitate before heading for the center of the ditch. They sloshed through water that was now knee high, dragging Sam between them. Ahead of them, Cas could make out a depression in the side of the waterway. He nudged Dean and pointed to it. Slowly the trudged towards it.
When they were twenty yards from it the air pressure around them dropped and caused their ears to pop. Cas froze mid-step before turning his face towards Dean.
"RUN!" He screamed and they took off.
Roaring winds tore at them, making it even more difficult for them to get to their destination. One of Sam's feet caught on something, causing them all to stumble. Regaining their feet, Dean and Cas quickly hauled the unconscious man to his feet and continued on. Just as they reached the depression, a piece of debris hit Cas square in the shoulder, sending him tumbling down on top of the other men. Ignoring the pain, he quickly maneuvered Sam between himself and Dean, throwing an arm across Sam's back to help keep him grounded. He felt Dean's arm do the same thing. Instinctively, they both grasped onto each other's forearms. Cas squeezed it as he pressed himself as far down into the mud as he could.
The roar of the tornado increased as it came even nearer to their position. Curiosity getting the better of him, Cas opened his eyes and glanced around them. Just on the other side of the road, a grey cyclone towered into the sky. Cas' jaw dropped at the deadly beauty of it. Not knowing what else to do and unable to help it, he started laughing hysterically. He felt a squeeze on his forearm and turned back to see Dean trying to tell him something. Unable to hear him, Cas just smiled idly and turned back to watch the swirling vortex in awe.
As he watched, the tornado lost strength and dissolved. With the all consuming sound of wind gone, he could hear himself still laughing. The clouds above them seemed to lighten immediately. It was still raining, but only lightly. There was a groan next to him as Sam slowly regained consciousness and sat up.
"Ugh, what happened? Wha- Why aren't we in the truck? What's going on?" He asked groggily as Dean grabbed him and looked him over for injuries.
"You slept through what had to be one of the most beautiful tornados I have ever seen!" Castiel shouted excitedly, sitting up with a groan.
"Whoa, dude, are you alright?" Dean asked, noticing the blood that was still trailing down Cas' face.
"Uh, yeah, pretty sure. Shoulder is sore." He said absently, getting to his feet to survey the area around them.
Looking down the way they'd come, he saw that the truck was a totaled mess. Dean's car though seemed to be in one piece.
"Here, let's get back over by the vehicles, see if we can't call Chuck and Balthazar back to see what we can salvage from the truck." Suggested Cas as he started leading the way. Dean and Sam fell into step behind him.
"You do realize your shoulder is bleeding too, right?" Dean asked him an instant before peeling the slick shirt away from the injury. Cas hissed and stopped in his tracks.
"Yeah, figured it would be since I got hit by something flying around." He ground out as he clenched his jaw.
"Doesn't look too deep. Should still probably go to a hospital and get it checked out." Sam observed as he examined the wound from over his brother's shoulder.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." Cas pulled away from Dean's probing fingers and jogged up the steep side of the ditch to Dean's car.
"Oh poor baby!" Dean exclaimed as he rubbed his hands over the hail damaged hood.
"You're lucky she's still even here." Commented Sam with a sly grin. The brothers began bickering about something as Cas rolled his eyes and slid into the front seat. Snatching up the CB handset he tested it to see if it still worked. He growled in frustration when it showed no signs of life. Getting out, he went around the front of the vehicle and sat on the hood. Two sets of eyes watched him expectantly.
"Radio's dead. We're just going to have to wait for Chuck and Balthazar to come back to look for us."
"Who probably think we're dead." Quipped Sam.
"I always wanted to be a zombie. Probably have enough blood, mud and grime on me to pull it off right now." Cas mused with a smile. Sam shook his head at him.
"You and your damn zombies."
"The zombie apocalypse will happen! And when it does, I'm not holding back on saying 'I told you so'. If you haven't already been eaten that is."
"So when are you two getting married?" Asked Dean, trying to joke but his tone was begrudging.
"Dude, I don't swing that way. You know that. Cas is just my friend."
"I can show you the BFF tattoo we got, if you want. Mine's on my ass." Cas shot Dean a lopsided grin. The blond stared at him wide eyed for a moment and licked his lips before turning and addressing Sam.
"I think he hit his head at some point."
Sam laughed, "Nah, that's just how he gets after a good chase."
Dean gaped at both of them, "That was good? You guys crashed and then we were almost killed by a tornado! How is that good?"
"Because while the truck is totaled, the equipment is built to sustain a beating so it isn't as damaged as you'd think it'd be." Cas pointed down the ditch at the vehicle, "We'll still be able to retrieve the data from all the equipment. So us almost dying, totally worth it."
"You're crazy, you're both crazy!" Dean exasperated, running both his hands through his hair.
"Says the man who willing chases after known murderers." Sam shot at him, arms crossed over his chest. Dean stuck his tongue out at his little brother. Sam rolled his eyes and muttered something about checking for anything salvageable in the truck. As he made his way down the slope, Dean moved closer to Cas.
"You really are crazy, and I don't particularly like you because it's your fault Sam does this." Dean told him as he sat down next to him.
"If you think I'm crazy now, you should see me in the bedroom. And I don't know what Sam had told you, but he came looking for me and my team. I actually tried to talk him out of it." Cas admitted leaning back with his hands braced behind him on the hood.
"The fact that you said both those things in the same breath and made it sound completely normal just amazes me." Dean said, eyes trained on Castiel's face. The dark haired man smiled.
"I could amaze you in soooo many other ways too, if you're interested."
"Did you- Are you hitting on me? Cause if you are, let me tell you something buddy, that's my job." Dean let his hand slide across the hood till it met Cas'. The agent flashed a heart-stopping grin.
"Oh, I see how it is. Works for me, I pretty much suck at flirting anyways. So, in light of that, I'm just going to come out and say: Wanna have sex and go out sometime?"
Dean laughed and laced his fingers through Cas', "Don't you mean go out sometime and then have sex?"
They both started leaning in towards each other, their intent clear.
"Whatever floats your boat." Cas said softly, feeling Dean's hot breath on his lips.
A car horn blared excitedly, causing them to jump away from each other. They looked up and saw a van skidding to a stop next to them.
"I've got free candy! Get in the van!" Balthazar shouted out the open window, a huge grin on his face. The side door rolled open and Chuck came flying out.
"Oh my God! You're alive! But the tornado, it was right on top of you! How'd you do it? There's no shelter and that had to be at least an EF-2 classed tornado! Are you alright? Oh my God!" He rambled on and on as he squeezed Cas in a hug. Pulling back he looked Cas over to make sure he was ok.
"It wasn't on top of us, it was across the road." He replied with a straight face, showing no emotion and not blinking.
"I hate it when you do that! The whole not blinking thing is creepy dude!" Chuck retreated to go and help Sam. Balthazar nodded to him as he walked by and followed Chuck. He wasn't stupid, he knew what was starting on the hood of that car and didn't want to see what happened.
Dean and Cas watched as the skinny blond disappeared before turning back to each other and meeting in a heated kiss. Several minutes passed and they broke away panting, their foreheads resting against each other.
"Oh, I liked that." Cas purred, licking his kiss swollen lips. Dean hummed in agreement.
"So, you know, there are only two weeks left in the tornado chasing season." Cas led off after they'd sat for a few moments quietly.
"What about it?"
"I don't know about your work, but you wanna tag along with us?"
The question hung heavily between them as Cas watched Dean thinking it through. Finally Dean looked him in the eye and smiled broadly.
"Oh what the hell. I've got plenty of vacation time as it so happens."
Their lips met again and they were last in each other till a disgusted snort come from the ditch. Sam was coming up with several bags hanging from his shoulders.
"I know we almost died and all, but get a room you two." He smiled as he passed them to throw the bags in the back of Dean's car.
"You get a room." Dean and Cas told him off at the same time.
"Whatever. Hospital, now. Let's move you guys. Chuck and Balthazar will take care of the mess here and meet us at the motel when we're all done."
The two drug themselves off the front of the car and slid into the front seat. Cas squished himself between Sam and Dean, enjoying their body head as he realized how chilled he was.
"How you doing Cas?" Sam asked him as Dean Started the car and took off.
"I was just in a car crash and survived a tornado without any shelter, how do you think I'm doing?" Cas grumbled while scooting down in his seat.
"And the adrenaline fueled glee is gone. Just relax and sleep till we get to the hospital, ok?" Sam smirked at him, familiar with the other man's exhaustion induced grouchiness. There was a loud 'humph' from Cas as he complied and closed his eyes. After a few minutes he was snoring softly and slumped over onto Dean's shoulder. Sam smiled at the sight.
"He's single you know." He informed his brother.
"I know Sam, quit trying to play matchmaker. He already asked me out." Dean said smugly.
"Oh wow. The Dean Winchester wasn't the one to make the first move? That's a first."
"You know what, shut-up Sam."
"Make me."
"I'm going to be traveling with you guys for the next two weeks."
Sam's jaw dropped and hung. He floundered for something to say, but his mouth refused to work as his brain tried to process what he was just told. Dean smirked at him and wrapped an arm around Cas' shoulders.
"Who knows, I might be around a lot more even after that." The smugness in his voice was enough to cause Sam to snap his mouth shut and turn to face the window. Dean laughed softly to himself, knowing he'd won.
AN: Haha, there. Leaving it open a bit there, in case I get the urge to add on a little bit or something.