Castiel's eyes darted from one corner of the diner to the other, expecting an ambush at any moment. He didn't really think the British Men of Letters would try to attack him in such a public place, but it didn't hurt to be careful. Especially under such suspicious circumstances.
He'd been on his way back to the bunker when he got a call from Mick Davies. The man had told him that he had new information regarding the location of Kelly Kline, but he hadn't wanted to tell Castiel over the phone, suggesting they meet instead.
That would be suspicious enough as it was – there was no reason for them to meet just so Mick could tell him the information – but the man had also sounded nervous over the phone.
So now Castiel was sitting in a booth with a cup of coffee in front of him, and his angel blade clutched in his hand under the table. If this really was an ambush, he wasn't sure how much he'd be able to fight off the Men of Letters given the kind of technology they had at their disposal, but he had to take the risk. They needed to find Kelly, nothing else mattered.
Finally, Castiel spotted Mick walking through the door, and tensed, gripping the handle of his blade even more tightly. Mick seemed to have no trouble finding him, even though Castiel didn't make an attempt to wave him over, and sat down opposite Castiel.
"I apologize for being late. I seemed to have underestimated the traffic," Mick said, laughing nervously. Castiel frowned, but didn't comment and instead scanned the entire diner again.
"That's alright, I don't mind," Castiel replied, and Mick smiled at him. "You said you have some information on Kelly Kline?"
Mick's smile dissipated. "Oh, yes," he said, putting his briefcase on the table and pulling out a folder. "Here."
Castiel took the folder and opened it. There was a map showing Kelly's most recent location, as well as photos from security cameras. Unfortunately, according to the files, she had been there four days ago, so Kelly had most likely left the town already. Still, it was better than nothing, which was what he usually had to work with, so Castiel was grateful.
"Thank you, this should be very useful," Castiel said, very much intending to leave, but a look from Mick stopped him. Of course, nothing was for free. "You want something in return."
Mick sputtered a little. "W-well, not exactly. Y'see, we already sent a reconnaissance team to the town, and Kelly is not there anymore. So, giving you this information wasn't exactly a pressing matter."
Castiel narrowed his eyes at the other man. He had already assumed that Kelly had left by now, but if the British Men of Letters knew this as well, why had Mick insisted on meeting Castiel here?
"I, uh, I wanted to ask you something. In person," Mick continued, running a hand through his hair. So it was information from him Mick wanted. Well, Castiel wouldn't tell him anything. He had nothing against Mick, but the organization he worked for made the angel uneasy, and he didn't want to help them or work with them in any way or form. But before Castiel could voice his opinion, Mick asked his question.
"Would you maybe, uh, be interested in going on a date? With me? Sometimes?"
There was a loud clang as Castiel dropped his angel blade, drawing the attention of everyone in the diner for a moment, but Castiel barely even noticed. All he could do was stare at Mick with his mouth hanging open. Mick wanted to…date him?
"Why?" Castiel asked as Mick bent down to pick up the blade, sounding a little defensive. What was Mick's plan here? Was he hoping to gain some information about angels from him? He took the blade back silently when Mick handed it him as discreetly as possible.
"Because you are interesting, and I like you, and I'd like to get to know you better?" Mick replied, sounding incredibly confused by the angel's question. "Were you…expecting me to attack you?"
Castiel looked back at the blade in his hand and quickly hid it, looking down at his coffee, suddenly feeling very silly for being so paranoid.
"Bloody hell…I-I'm sorry, I should have just asked you over the phone," Mick said, running a hand over his face. "Sorry for wasting your time, I, uh, I'll just…" He closed his suitcase and looked like he was about to leave.
"No, wait," Castiel stopped him, unsure why he did so. His heart belonged to Dean, after all. It would always belong to Dean. But…
Dean didn't want him, not like Castiel wanted him, at least, and he most likely never would. Castiel had told him he loved him just a while ago, and Dean pretended it hadn't happened. Not that Castiel blamed him. Maybe it was time to stop hoping. And Castiel would lie if he said that he hadn't thought that Mick was attractive at least once, or that Castiel didn't want to find out more about the man.
And it was just one date. Castiel wasn't really busy with how few leads he usually had, so it wouldn't keep him from anything, and he could make up his mind afterwards.
"Are you saying you are interested?" Mick asked, his voice hopeful.
Castiel ducked his gaze. "Yes," he replied shyly, and Mick beamed at him.
Unlike Castiel, Mick was a very busy man, so they planned the date for next week, which meant that the angel had plenty of time to think about why this might be a mistake and also realize that he had little to no idea what one was actually supposed to do on a date. All of his knowledge concerning the topic came from watching television, but he hadn't watched many shows or movies that focused on that.
He would have asked Sam or Dean, but he was sure that they would ask who he was going on a date with, and when they found out they would definitely try to talk out of it. Or at least Dean would. He seemed to dislike Mick a lot, although Castiel wasn't sure why.
Anyway, seeing as his only friends weren't the best people to ask right now, Castiel decided to ask Google. He was a little surprised to find out that the topic was less complicated than he'd though – just getting to know each other over a fun activity. Mick had suggested dinner, which meant Castiel would have to pretend food didn't taste like molecules to him. Or maybe he could dial down his grace a little.
Google had also advised him that he should wear something nice, depending on where the date would be taking place. Castiel had looked up the restaurant Mick had made a reservation at, and noted that everything was very expensive, which meant that it would be best if he stuck with his suit and left the coat behind.
It also meant that he would need more money. He was fairly confident he had enough for the date, but that would leave him with nothing to buy gas with and that was a problem. He put his wallet back into his pocket with a sigh and tried to straighten his tie again, feeling incredibly nervous.
Maybe he should call it off. He hated lying to the Winchesters, especially when it something as unimportant as this. He took his phone out of his pocket, intending to text Mick something along those lines, when he noticed Mick had sent him a text ten minutes ago. How had he missed that?
'I'll pick you up at 6. Is that alright? ;)' the text said, and Castiel's heart skipped a beat. Mick was clearly looking forward to spending time with him, which wasn't something Castiel was all that used to. He couldn't cancel the date without hurting the other man's feelings, so Castiel decided against it.
Instead, Castiel texted back a simple 'yes' and smiled at the screen slightly. Hopefully today wouldn't be a total disaster.